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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. spell — a short time
  3. degree — an amount
  4. fall — the season
  5. branch — a division
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spell — letters
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. spell — magic
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — to sink
  13. file — a document
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. degree — from a university
  16. file — a tool
  17. cap — a lid
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cap — a hat
  24. dip — a sauce

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