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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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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: tube · arm · can · cold · deal · swing · degree · calf

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. tube — the underground
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. swing — to play on
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. tube — a container
  10. degree — temperature
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. degree — from a university
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. swing — music
  18. can — a tin
  19. cold — an illness
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. degree — an amount
  23. can — a tin
  24. swing — in golf

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