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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. degree — an amount
  3. file — a document
  4. last — final
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. file — a line of people
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. last — to go on
  10. stem — to come from
  11. last — finally
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — a hat
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. file — a tool
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — a trainer

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