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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. tear — from crying
  3. degree — from a university
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mate — a friend
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. file — a line of people
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mate — a partner
  12. tear — to rip
  13. current — happening now
  14. tear — from crying
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chip — for betting
  17. current — electric
  18. degree — an amount
  19. current — of water
  20. file — a tool
  21. roll — a list
  22. file — a document
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. mate — to breed

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