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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. file — a tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. board — a committee
  5. firm — a company
  6. file — a line of people
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. fine — high quality
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. degree — an amount
  11. firm — steady
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. fine — all right
  14. mark — a trace
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. cold — not warm
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rush — hurry
  22. mark — a grade
  23. file — a document
  24. board — to get on

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