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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. current — happening now
  3. degree — an amount
  4. spell — letters
  5. pit — in a race
  6. ball — a great time
  7. file — a tool
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. spell — magic
  10. pit — a hole
  11. degree — temperature
  12. current — electric
  13. ball — a dance
  14. board — to get on
  15. current — of water
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. cell — a phone
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. cell — in biology
  22. degree — from a university
  23. file — a document
  24. board — a committee

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