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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. mate — a partner
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a tool
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. spell — a short time
  6. file — a document
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bat — the animal
  9. mate — a friend
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bore — to drill
  13. lean — thin
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — magic
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. lean — to bend
  20. kick — in football
  21. bore — to tire
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. spell — letters
  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