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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. file — a line of people
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bank — for money
  6. club — for dancing
  7. file — a document
  8. mark — a trace
  9. fork — in a road
  10. club — a group
  11. club — for golf
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. spell — letters
  14. degree — temperature
  15. row — a line
  16. degree — from a university
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a tool
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bank — of a river
  24. degree — an amount

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