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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  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. tube — in a tire
  2. tube — a container
  3. degree — from a university
  4. game — wild animals
  5. staff — employees
  6. game — a match
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. degree — temperature
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. tube — the underground
  11. staff — a stick
  12. staff — employees
  13. bound — tied together
  14. row — a line
  15. bound — certain
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bound — obliged
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. fan — a supporter
  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