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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. net — for catching
  3. tube — a container
  4. court — for sport
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. court — of law
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pit — a hole
  10. net — after costs
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. net — in sport
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. court — of a king
  16. wake — a trail
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. degree — an amount
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. wind — moving air

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