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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: degree · mate · racket · cap · game · rush · tear · tube

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — a container
  6. game — wild animals
  7. degree — temperature
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. degree — from a university
  11. cap — a lid
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. degree — an amount
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rush — hurry
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a hat
  21. game — a match
  22. mate — a partner
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. mate — to breed

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