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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. bass — low music
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. file — a document
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cue — a hint
  9. file — a tool
  10. degree — temperature
  11. sharp — clever
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bass — the fish
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bat — the animal
  24. degree — from a university

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