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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. degree — an amount
  4. lean — to bend
  5. fine — high quality
  6. drill — a practice
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. lean — thin
  10. sharp — clever
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. shower — rain
  13. tube — the underground
  14. chip — to eat
  15. shower — to wash
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. degree — temperature
  18. fine — all right
  19. chip — for betting
  20. drill — army training
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. drill — the tool
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. sharp — exactly

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com