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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. charge — in control
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — an illness
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. mark — a grade
  10. plane — a tool
  11. bank — for money
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — not warm
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mark — a trace
  16. charge — electricity
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. staff — a stick
  19. charge — a price
  20. file — a document
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. degree — from a university

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