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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. march — the month
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. rock — a stone
  5. march — the month
  6. cue — a hint
  7. march — music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. degree — temperature
  10. tube — the underground
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stem — to come from
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rock — music
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. hide — to keep secret

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