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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. file — a document
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cell — a phone
  5. can — a tin
  6. degree — temperature
  7. field — a subject
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wake — a trail
  10. content — the amount
  11. rest — what's left
  12. can — a tin
  13. field — farmland
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rest — a break
  16. can — to be able to
  17. degree — from a university
  18. field — for sport
  19. content — happy
  20. rest — what's left
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. cell — in biology
  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