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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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. degree — from a university
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. deal — to handle
  5. row — to paddle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. file — a line of people
  8. wind — moving air
  9. row — a line
  10. degree — an amount
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. file — a tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. degree — temperature
  20. file — a document
  21. wind — moving air
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fork — in a road

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