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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. degree — temperature
  3. ground — crushed
  4. press — newspapers
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. degree — an amount
  8. file — a line of people
  9. clip — to cut
  10. drill — a practice
  11. ground — the earth
  12. clip — a video
  13. shower — rain
  14. drill — army training
  15. track — a song
  16. degree — from a university
  17. press — a publisher
  18. press — to push
  19. shower — to wash
  20. drill — the tool
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. ground — a position
  23. file — a document
  24. clip — for paper

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