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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. file — a tool
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. cap — of ice
  7. land — to come down
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cap — a hat
  13. land — ground
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. file — a document
  16. file — a line of people
  17. degree — an amount
  18. pass — a permit
  19. deal — to handle
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cap — a lid
  22. land — a country
  23. degree — temperature
  24. deal — a big deal

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