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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. tube — a container
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. clip — a video
  8. rock — a stone
  9. mark — a grade
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bass — the fish
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bass — low music
  17. tube — the underground
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rock — music
  22. degree — an amount
  23. drill — the tool
  24. rock — to move gently

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