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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 116 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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. net — in sport
  3. degree — from a university
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bass — the fish
  7. rock — music
  8. tube — the underground
  9. net — for catching
  10. tube — a container
  11. spring — of water
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. spring — the season
  14. bass — low music
  15. spring — a coil
  16. degree — an amount
  17. chip — for betting
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. net — after costs
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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