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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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. net — in sport
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. firm — decided
  7. file — a tool
  8. firm — steady
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. sharp — clever
  11. field — farmland
  12. staff — a stick
  13. file — a line of people
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. staff — employees
  16. field — for sport
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. net — after costs
  19. firm — a company
  20. field — a subject
  21. net — for catching
  22. degree — an amount
  23. staff — employees
  24. degree — temperature

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