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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. content — the amount
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. degree — temperature
  6. file — a line of people
  7. degree — from a university
  8. file — a tool
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — happy
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. rest — a break
  14. track — a song
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. track — to keep track
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. track — a path
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. file — a document
  24. wave — of the sea

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