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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. chip — to eat
  3. file — a tool
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. key — the most important part
  8. degree — an amount
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — the time now
  12. key — in music
  13. file — a document
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chip — for betting
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. branch — a division
  20. key — for a lock
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. file — a line of people

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