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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. bass — the fish
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. staff — employees
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. row — a line
  9. pit — a hole
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chair — a leader
  14. staff — employees
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. staff — a stick
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. bass — low music
  23. row — a quarrel
  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