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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. degree — temperature
  6. toast — bread
  7. degree — an amount
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. degree — from a university
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. tube — the underground
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. cap — of ice
  19. court — of law
  20. cap — a hat
  21. wind — moving air
  22. row — a line
  23. cap — a lid
  24. tube — a container

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