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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fork — in a road
  7. rush — hurry
  8. object — to protest
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. tear — from crying
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. tear — to rip
  14. degree — an amount
  15. file — a tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. object — a thing
  18. degree — temperature
  19. file — a line of people
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. degree — from a university
  23. file — a document
  24. object — an aim

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