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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. kick — in football
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. tube — a container
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. tube — the underground
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. object — a thing
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fork — in a road
  15. date — the fruit
  16. object — to protest
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. degree — from a university
  20. degree — an amount
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. degree — temperature
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bat — the animal

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