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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rule — a law
  7. pit — a hole
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. file — a tool
  10. bank — for money
  11. spell — a short time
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. bank — for money
  14. dip — to sink
  15. tear — from crying
  16. degree — an amount
  17. spell — magic
  18. bank — of a river
  19. rule — government
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. file — a document
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. pit — in a race
  24. file — a line of people

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