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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. staff — a stick
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. degree — from a university
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. track — a path
  10. staff — employees
  11. track — to keep track
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. track — a song
  14. season — in sport
  15. staff — employees
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. file — a tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. court — of a king
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — an amount
  23. file — a line of people
  24. season — of the year

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