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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. march — the month
  3. vault — a safe
  4. degree — an amount
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. hand — help
  7. march — the month
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. march — music
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. degree — from a university
  17. firm — steady
  18. fork — in a road
  19. degree — temperature
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. firm — decided
  23. hand — in cards
  24. firm — a company

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