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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. degree — temperature
  3. sharp — clever
  4. degree — from a university
  5. suit — clothes
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. game — wild animals
  8. net — in sport
  9. suit — to fit
  10. file — a document
  11. net — for catching
  12. file — a line of people
  13. hand — in cards
  14. suit — in cards
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pop — music
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pop — to visit
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. game — a match
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. hand — help
  23. net — after costs
  24. pop — soda

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