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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. tube — a container
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wound — an injury
  6. field — for sport
  7. march — the month
  8. mug — a cup
  9. march — the month
  10. last — final
  11. degree — from a university
  12. march — music
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — a subject
  15. degree — an amount
  16. last — to go on
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. tube — the underground
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a face
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — certain
  23. field — farmland
  24. bound — tied together

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