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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. fine — all right
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bore — to tire
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. degree — temperature
  20. file — a line of people
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mouse — the animal

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