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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. degree — an amount
  3. file — a document
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — for sport
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — for betting
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. field — a subject
  20. snap — to click
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chip — to eat
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. degree — from a university

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