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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. scale — in music
  3. snap — to click
  4. ground — the earth
  5. toast — bread
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. ground — a position
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. degree — an amount
  12. face — part of the head
  13. degree — temperature
  14. file — a line of people
  15. degree — from a university
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. face — to confront
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. face — to point toward
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. file — a tool
  23. ground — crushed
  24. scale — size or range

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