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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. shower — rain
  8. degree — an amount
  9. game — wild animals
  10. root — the cause
  11. rock — a stone
  12. shower — to wash
  13. game — a match
  14. file — a tool
  15. root — of a word
  16. rock — music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. file — a document
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. root — of a plant
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wind — to turn a key

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