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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. sharp — clever
  3. chest — a box
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. degree — from a university
  8. file — a document
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cap — a lid
  11. chest — of your body
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cap — a hat
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. chest — of your body
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. cap — of ice
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stand — to bear
  24. file — a tool

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