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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. tube — the underground
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — army training
  12. fall — the season
  13. suit — to fit
  14. pit — a hole
  15. suit — clothes
  16. drill — the tool
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. suit — in cards
  19. tube — a container
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bear — the animal
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pit — in a race

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