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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. net — for catching
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. land — to come down
  5. net — in sport
  6. degree — from a university
  7. land — ground
  8. mark — a grade
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mark — a trace
  15. degree — an amount
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. degree — temperature
  19. file — a tool
  20. net — after costs
  21. land — a country
  22. file — a document
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. branch — a division

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