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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: club · lean · wind · file · cabinet · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. 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. degree — temperature
  2. wind — moving air
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — to bend
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for dancing
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. lean — thin
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. file — a document
  16. club — for golf
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. 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