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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. tear — from crying
  3. race — the arms race
  4. chip — to eat
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chip — for betting
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. saw — the tool
  10. race — a contest
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. degree — temperature
  14. race — humankind
  15. file — a tool
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — an amount
  21. file — a line of people
  22. degree — from a university
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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