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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. degree — temperature
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. degree — an amount
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tear — from crying
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. lean — thin
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. foot — a measure
  24. degree — from a university

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