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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. degree — temperature
  5. cap — of ice
  6. stock — goods
  7. cap — a hat
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. tube — a container
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. content — happy
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. degree — from a university
  21. content — the amount
  22. tube — the underground
  23. cap — a lid
  24. degree — an amount

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