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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wake — a trail
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. mug — a cup
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mug — to rob
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. chip — to eat
  15. tube — a container
  16. mug — a face
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cell — in biology
  19. degree — an amount
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. tube — the underground
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. chair — to sit on

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