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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. rash — a series
  2. degree — from a university
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. lean — thin
  8. band — a ring
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rash — hasty
  13. tube — the underground
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. band — a music group
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. degree — an amount
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. tube — a container
  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