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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. degree — an amount
  3. file — a document
  4. wound — an injury
  5. file — a tool
  6. degree — temperature
  7. drill — the tool
  8. suit — in cards
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. degree — from a university
  12. suit — clothes
  13. press — a publisher
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. suit — to fit
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. drill — a practice
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. drill — army training
  20. court — for sport
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bat — the animal

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