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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. foot — a measure
  5. track — a path
  6. club — for golf
  7. track — to keep track
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a tool
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. drill — army training
  16. key — the most important part
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. club — for dancing
  20. degree — temperature
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. file — a document
  23. club — a group
  24. track — a song

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