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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. degree — temperature
  4. file — a tool
  5. mark — a grade
  6. chair — a leader
  7. squash — the sport
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. date — the fruit
  10. row — a line
  11. mark — a trace
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. squash — to crush
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. file — a line of people
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. file — a document
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mouse — the animal

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