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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. row — to paddle
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. file — a tool
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. file — a document
  8. degree — temperature
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bass — the fish
  12. row — a line
  13. court — for sport
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. snap — to click
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bass — low music
  18. degree — an amount
  19. court — of a king
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. file — a line of people
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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