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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: degree · bank · file · pound · clip · calf

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. file — a line of people
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. degree — an amount
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bank — for money
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. file — a document
  9. bank — of a river
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bank — for money
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pound — a weight
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. file — a tool

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