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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 120 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. file — a line of people
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a friend
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. craft — a skill
  8. staff — a stick
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. degree — from a university
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. net — in sport
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. file — a tool
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. net — for catching
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. craft — boats
  20. bark — to shout
  21. file — a document
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. net — after costs
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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