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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. object — an aim
  3. bound — certain
  4. degree — temperature
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. field — farmland
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. degree — an amount
  12. object — a thing
  13. file — a document
  14. swing — to play on
  15. field — for sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bound — tied together
  22. file — a line of people
  23. field — a subject
  24. object — to protest

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