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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. rest — what's left
  3. game — a match
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fall — to drop
  6. charge — in control
  7. file — a document
  8. charge — a price
  9. fall — to drop
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. file — a tool
  12. lean — to bend
  13. charge — electricity
  14. degree — an amount
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. degree — temperature
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — a grade
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fall — the season

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