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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — a tin
  9. capital — a city
  10. bass — the fish
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bass — low music
  13. file — a line of people
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — from a university
  17. lie — to recline
  18. mine — for digging
  19. can — to be able to
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to click

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