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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. degree — from a university
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wake — a trail
  5. deal — to handle
  6. charge — electricity
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. charge — a price
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. degree — an amount
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. charge — in control
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. cell — in biology
  24. sharp — with an edge

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