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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 116 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. degree — temperature
  5. track — a path
  6. file — a document
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. track — a song
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bulb — for light
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. object — a thing
  16. bulb — for light
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. sharp — clever
  19. object — to protest
  20. wound — an injury
  21. track — to keep track
  22. object — an aim
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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