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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. degree — temperature
  3. press — newspapers
  4. file — a tool
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. club — for golf
  9. content — the amount
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. content — happy
  14. degree — an amount
  15. file — a document
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bark — to shout
  18. club — a group
  19. degree — from a university
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. file — a line of people
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — to breed

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