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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. file — a tool
  3. date — the fruit
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. can — a tin
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. wound — an injury
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bulb — for light
  12. toast — bread
  13. bulb — for light
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pit — a hole
  17. can — a tin
  18. file — a document
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. file — a line of people
  23. can — to be able to
  24. degree — temperature

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