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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  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. cap — of ice
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. cap — a lid
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. file — a tool
  9. rock — a stone
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lie — to recline
  13. last — final
  14. cap — a hat
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. rock — music
  18. file — a document
  19. degree — an amount
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitch — completely
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  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