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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: file · saw · pound · race · calf · degree

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. race — humankind
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. saw — the tool
  6. degree — from a university
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pound — a weight
  10. degree — temperature
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. race — a contest
  13. file — a document
  14. degree — an amount
  15. file — a line of people
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pound — to hit hard

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