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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. can — to be able to
  2. pit — a hole
  3. tube — a container
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rule — government
  7. degree — from a university
  8. row — to paddle
  9. pit — in a race
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. kid — child
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bark — to shout
  17. can — a tin
  18. rule — a law
  19. tube — the underground
  20. degree — temperature
  21. kid — to tease
  22. can — a tin
  23. row — a line
  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