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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. tube — a container
  4. cap — of ice
  5. march — the month
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bore — to tire
  8. degree — temperature
  9. can — a tin
  10. sharp — clever
  11. march — the month
  12. cap — a hat
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. degree — an amount
  15. capital — a city
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. tube — the underground
  19. can — a tin
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. cap — a lid
  23. march — music
  24. bore — to drill

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