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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. kick — in football
  3. tube — a container
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. drill — the tool
  6. fall — to drop
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bulb — for light
  10. drill — a practice
  11. mine — for digging
  12. game — a match
  13. bulb — for light
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. drill — army training
  18. tube — the underground
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — wild animals
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. kick — with a leg

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