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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 116 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. degree — temperature
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. content — happy
  6. content — the amount
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bore — to tire
  11. spell — letters
  12. tube — a container
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — to eat
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bore — to drill
  18. stem — to come from
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. degree — an amount

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