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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. file — a tool
  3. degree — an amount
  4. file — a document
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. degree — from a university
  12. root — the cause
  13. band — a ring
  14. last — to go on
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. file — a line of people
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. last — final
  23. wake — a trail
  24. band — a music group

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