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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. file — a document
  3. degree — temperature
  4. ground — crushed
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pop — soda
  7. rock — music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. rock — a stone
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — a position
  24. pop — music

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