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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. pit — in a race
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rock — music
  5. tube — a container
  6. degree — temperature
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. snap — to click
  9. pit — a hole
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. tube — the underground
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. rock — a stone
  17. game — a match
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. saw — the tool
  22. game — wild animals
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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