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

Word bank: row · file · toast · degree · mate · stick · chest · firm

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. mate — a friend
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. firm — steady
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. degree — temperature
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. firm — a company
  14. row — to paddle
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — bread
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chest — a box
  19. mate — a partner
  20. file — a document
  21. degree — an amount
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mate — to breed
  24. row — a line

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