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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. stem — to come from
  4. degree — from a university
  5. file — a document
  6. degree — an amount
  7. file — a tool
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mark — a trace
  11. rest — a break
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. degree — temperature
  15. season — of the year
  16. rest — what's left
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. season — in sport
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wind — moving air
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mark — a grade

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