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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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. last — final
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — a face
  5. spring — of water
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. face — to confront
  8. mug — to rob
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pit — in a race
  12. file — a document
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. file — a line of people
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — the season
  20. pit — a hole
  21. last — to go on
  22. face — to point toward
  23. last — finally
  24. file — a tool

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