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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  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. file — a line of people
  2. cell — in biology
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cell — a phone
  5. ground — a position
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. season — of the year
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. degree — temperature
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. row — a line
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. season — in sport
  17. ground — the earth
  18. degree — from a university
  19. ground — crushed
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. file — a document
  23. jam — in traffic
  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