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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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468
Word bank
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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. tear — from crying
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. present — a gift
  5. file — a document
  6. tear — to rip
  7. deal — to handle
  8. current — electric
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. present — there
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. present — the time now
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. current — of water
  17. degree — temperature
  18. current — happening now
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. fork — in a road
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bowl — a football final

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