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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  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. file — a line of people
  2. pit — in a race
  3. present — a gift
  4. can — a tin
  5. object — to protest
  6. object — an aim
  7. file — a tool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. present — the time now
  11. mark — a trace
  12. file — a document
  13. present — there
  14. cold — an illness
  15. degree — temperature
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. mark — a grade
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pit — a hole
  20. can — a tin
  21. object — a thing
  22. degree — an amount
  23. can — to be able to
  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