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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. last — final
  5. stand — to bear
  6. last — to go on
  7. file — a tool
  8. degree — from a university
  9. file — a line of people
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bark — to shout
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pitch — completely
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mark — a trace
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mark — a grade
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. last — finally

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