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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.

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: club · mine · root · degree · tube · lash · scale · field

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. root — the cause
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. field — farmland
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. degree — an amount
  9. scale — size or range
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. club — for golf
  12. degree — temperature
  13. root — of a plant
  14. club — for dancing
  15. tube — the underground
  16. root — of a word
  17. field — a subject
  18. tube — a container
  19. scale — in music
  20. field — for sport
  21. mine — for digging
  22. degree — from a university
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. club — a group

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