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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. file — a line of people
  2. degree — temperature
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. face — to confront
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. field — a subject
  7. rule — government
  8. degree — an amount
  9. firm — a company
  10. rule — a law
  11. firm — steady
  12. field — for sport
  13. file — a document
  14. firm — decided
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. sharp — clever
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. file — a tool
  22. field — farmland
  23. rule — to rule out
  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