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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 124 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rush — hurry
  4. object — a thing
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. degree — from a university
  7. object — to protest
  8. mate — a friend
  9. tube — a container
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. present — the time now
  12. tube — the underground
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. spring — the season
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. spring — of water
  18. present — a gift
  19. mate — a partner
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mate — to breed
  22. spring — a coil
  23. present — there
  24. tube — in a tire

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