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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rash — a series
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. pit — a hole
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. pound — a weight
  12. degree — an amount
  13. rest — a break
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. degree — temperature
  17. rash — hasty
  18. file — a tool
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. pit — in a race
  22. file — a document
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. file — a line of people

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