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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 sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. present — the time now
  3. degree — from a university
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. file — a tool
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. scale — in music
  8. rash — hasty
  9. file — a line of people
  10. present — a gift
  11. mark — a trace
  12. drill — a practice
  13. scale — size or range
  14. wind — moving air
  15. drill — the tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rash — a series
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. mark — a grade
  22. file — a document
  23. drill — army training
  24. present — there

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