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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. last — finally
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. degree — temperature
  8. file — a tool
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. degree — an amount
  19. file — a document
  20. scale — size or range
  21. saw — the tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. degree — from a university
  24. scale — in music

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