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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: tear · file · degree · squash · mate · lie · chip · wound

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. chip — to eat
  4. file — a tool
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mate — a partner
  7. file — a line of people
  8. tear — from crying
  9. squash — to crush
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. chip — for betting
  12. lie — to recline
  13. degree — temperature
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mate — to breed
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mate — a friend
  20. squash — the sport
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. degree — from a university

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