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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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. ground — crushed
  3. club — for golf
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. mark — a trace
  8. club — for dancing
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. file — a tool
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. ground — the earth
  15. club — a group
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — the tool
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. drill — a practice
  20. file — a document
  21. ground — a position
  22. file — a line of people
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mark — a grade

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