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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: mine · cold · bass · pass · degree · tube · suit · tear

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. bass — low music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — an amount
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pass — a permit
  10. suit — in cards
  11. mine — for digging
  12. suit — clothes
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bass — the fish
  15. degree — temperature
  16. tube — a container
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cold — not warm
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cold — an illness
  23. suit — to fit
  24. tube — the underground

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