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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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 document
  2. degree — temperature
  3. file — a tool
  4. bark — to shout
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. file — a line of people
  9. row — a line
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. charge — a price
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bat — the animal
  14. charge — electricity
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. charge — in control
  17. mark — a trace
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bark — of a tree
  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