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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. degree — an amount
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. staff — a stick
  5. can — a tin
  6. staff — employees
  7. file — a line of people
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. staff — employees
  11. can — to be able to
  12. current — of water
  13. can — a tin
  14. shower — to wash
  15. degree — temperature
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. current — electric
  19. clip — a video
  20. current — happening now
  21. shower — rain
  22. clip — to cut
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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