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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  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. lean — thin
  2. file — a line of people
  3. chip — for betting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. ball — a great time
  8. file — a document
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. degree — temperature
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. chip — to eat
  16. ball — a dance
  17. degree — an amount
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. file — a tool
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. sharp — clever
  23. ball — a round shape
  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