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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. degree — from a university
  6. tube — the underground
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tube — a container
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. roll — a cake
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. roll — a list
  17. season — of the year
  18. rush — hurry
  19. pop — music
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. season — in sport
  22. snap — to click
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pop — to visit

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