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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. shower — rain
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a tool
  5. bat — the animal
  6. chip — for betting
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. current — electric
  12. current — happening now
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chip — to eat
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. deal — to handle
  19. current — of water
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. shower — to wash
  24. arm — part of the body

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