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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. degree — an amount
  7. tube — the underground
  8. rash — a series
  9. capital — money
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. staff — a stick
  12. kid — child
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. staff — employees
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stand — to bear
  18. tube — a container
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mate — a friend
  21. rash — hasty
  22. capital — a city
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mate — to breed

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