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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. lean — to bend
  7. chair — a leader
  8. file — a document
  9. mug — a face
  10. bass — the fish
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. shower — rain
  13. prune — to trim
  14. degree — temperature
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. prune — to trim
  17. file — a line of people
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bass — low music
  21. lean — thin
  22. degree — an amount
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. file — a tool

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