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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 124 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. degree — temperature
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. cell — in biology
  13. degree — from a university
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. tube — the underground
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. wind — moving air
  20. tube — a container
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kid — child
  23. branch — a division
  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