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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. fine — high quality
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. rush — hurry
  7. track — a song
  8. degree — temperature
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. track — to keep track
  15. track — a path
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. degree — an amount
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. fine — all right
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — to drop
  24. file — a line of people

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