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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 124 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. scale — size or range
  4. degree — an amount
  5. last — finally
  6. bound — tied together
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. scale — in music
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. last — final
  14. saw — the tool
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. bound — obliged
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. saw — the tool
  23. track — a path
  24. bound — certain

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