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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 120 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. file — a tool
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. mine — for digging
  9. current — happening now
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. swing — to play on
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tube — a container
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. degree — temperature
  20. current — of water
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. swing — in golf
  23. current — electric
  24. swing — music

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