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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bat — the animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. track — to keep track
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. present — the time now
  14. tube — the underground
  15. track — a path
  16. tube — a container
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. degree — temperature
  20. file — a tool
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. track — a song

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