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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. tube — the underground
  3. last — finally
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. degree — from a university
  6. last — to go on
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. pound — a weight
  9. degree — an amount
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. chair — a leader
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. clip — a video
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. clip — for paper
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. tube — a container
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. last — final
  24. degree — temperature

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