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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · dip · pop · mark · degree · file · deal · snap

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. file — a line of people
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. degree — an amount
  5. pop — music
  6. chair — a leader
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pop — to visit
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. dip — to sink
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. file — a tool
  19. pop — soda
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. file — a document
  24. mark — a grade

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