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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 need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. fall — the season
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. march — music
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cap — a hat
  10. pitch — completely
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. fall — to drop
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wax — to grow
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cap — a lid
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cap — of ice
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tube — a container
  24. degree — temperature

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