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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. file — a document
  6. chip — for betting
  7. degree — an amount
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. degree — from a university
  10. hand — in cards
  11. file — a tool
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. file — a line of people
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. lean — thin
  19. chip — to eat
  20. hand — help
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. pass — a permit
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fine — all right

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