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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. fall — to drop
  3. dip — to sink
  4. last — to go on
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. degree — temperature
  8. tube — a container
  9. degree — from a university
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fall — to drop
  14. degree — an amount
  15. fall — the season
  16. last — final
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. last — finally
  23. game — a match
  24. bulb — of a plant

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