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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.

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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: track · club · wake · tube · wind · degree · chair · pound

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. tube — a container
  4. track — a song
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. tube — the underground
  7. club — for dancing
  8. wind — moving air
  9. track — a path
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. club — for golf
  18. track — to keep track
  19. club — a group
  20. wind — moving air
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pound — a weight
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pound — to hit hard

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