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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. file — a tool
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. perch — the fish
  12. file — a line of people
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. row — to paddle
  16. ground — the earth
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bat — the animal
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. row — a line
  21. stem — to come from
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. degree — an amount

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