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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pop — to visit
  3. degree — from a university
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. board — to get on
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. court — of law
  10. ground — the earth
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. file — a line of people
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. file — a tool
  15. pop — music
  16. board — a committee
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rush — hurry
  20. ground — crushed
  21. degree — temperature
  22. ground — a position
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. pop — soda

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