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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. degree — from a university
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. swing — in golf
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. band — a ring
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bore — to drill
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bore — to tire
  18. band — a music group
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. file — a line of people
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. land — a country
  24. band — a rubber band

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