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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. file — a document
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. club — a group
  8. rush — hurry
  9. content — the amount
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. club — for golf
  12. wake — a trail
  13. content — happy
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. degree — temperature
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. pitch — completely
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. degree — an amount
  22. perch — the fish
  23. file — a tool
  24. rush — to hurry

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