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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. ground — crushed
  5. file — a line of people
  6. rash — hasty
  7. ground — a position
  8. bass — the fish
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. snap — to click
  11. prune — to trim
  12. file — a document
  13. bass — low music
  14. ground — the earth
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. degree — from a university
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rash — a series
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — temperature
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. bass — the instrument

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