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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. stand — on your feet
  2. file — a line of people
  3. land — a country
  4. pound — a weight
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. degree — temperature
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. degree — an amount
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stand — to bear
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. branch — a division
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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