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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. rash — hasty
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. chest — of your body
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. row — a line
  16. tube — the underground
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rash — a series
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. degree — temperature
  21. row — to paddle
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. tube — a container

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