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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. drill — army training
  3. band — a ring
  4. file — a document
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. lie — to recline
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. band — a music group
  15. saw — the tool
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. drill — a practice
  20. wound — an injury
  21. drill — the tool
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. nail — for a hammer

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