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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. degree — from a university
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. hand — in cards
  8. drill — the tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. present — the time now
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. file — a document
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chair — a leader
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — hasty
  17. present — a gift
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hand — help
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. present — there
  23. degree — temperature
  24. rash — a series

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