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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bore — to tire
  4. track — a song
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. tube — a container
  8. perch — the fish
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bore — to drill
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — high quality
  14. cell — in biology
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. track — to keep track
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. track — a path
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. tube — in a tire

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