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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 rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. net — in sport
  3. swing — to play on
  4. rest — a break
  5. swing — in golf
  6. file — a line of people
  7. rest — what's left
  8. content — the amount
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. degree — from a university
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. file — a document
  16. net — after costs
  17. swing — music
  18. net — for catching
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rest — what's left
  22. degree — an amount
  23. content — happy
  24. degree — temperature

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