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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 120 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. season — in sport
  5. track — to keep track
  6. degree — from a university
  7. squash — the sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. season — of the year
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. degree — temperature
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. track — a song
  15. file — a tool
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. file — a document
  19. wake — a trail
  20. foot — a measure
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. degree — an amount
  23. pound — a weight
  24. track — a path

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