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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. file — a document
  6. mark — a trace
  7. sharp — clever
  8. land — ground
  9. mark — a grade
  10. land — to come down
  11. pit — a hole
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. pit — in a race
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. file — a tool
  22. degree — from a university
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — exactly

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