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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 116 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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. file — a tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. degree — from a university
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. vault — a safe
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. march — music
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chip — for betting
  17. file — a document
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. prune — to trim
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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