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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rock — music
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. file — a line of people
  6. spell — a short time
  7. file — a tool
  8. rock — a stone
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bank — for money
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. degree — an amount
  14. sharp — clever
  15. spell — magic
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bank — of a river
  18. file — a document
  19. bank — for money
  20. degree — from a university
  21. spell — letters
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. dip — to sink

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