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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 116 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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rash — a series
  3. degree — temperature
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. file — a line of people
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. tear — from crying
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. snap — to click
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. tear — to rip
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fork — in a road
  17. degree — an amount
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. file — a tool
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rash — hasty
  24. file — a document

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