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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tube — the underground
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. object — a thing
  5. degree — temperature
  6. staff — a stick
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. degree — an amount
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. band — a ring
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. band — a music group
  13. object — an aim
  14. fine — all right
  15. degree — from a university
  16. fine — high quality
  17. season — in sport
  18. tube — a container
  19. season — of the year
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. object — to protest
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. staff — employees
  24. fine — a penalty

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