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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. kid — to tease
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — to bear
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pop — soda
  14. kid — child
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pop — to visit
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pop — music
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bowl — a football final

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