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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. degree — from a university
  3. chair — a leader
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. dip — to sink
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. file — a tool
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. degree — an amount
  12. kick — in football
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. spring — of water
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. dip — to dunk

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