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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 · kid · fall · ruler · file · coach

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. degree — from a university
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. file — a line of people
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. file — a document
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. file — a tool
  9. kid — child
  10. fall — to drop
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. fall — to drop
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. kid — to tease
  17. degree — an amount
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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