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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 124 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. file — a line of people
  4. can — to be able to
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. file — a tool
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. scale — in music
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — a tin
  11. sharp — clever
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. stand — to bear
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. scale — size or range
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. degree — from a university
  21. file — a document
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. degree — an amount

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