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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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Word bank
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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: suit · row · file · degree · board · drill

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. file — a line of people
  4. board — to get on
  5. degree — an amount
  6. suit — to fit
  7. drill — a practice
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. suit — in cards
  10. board — a committee
  11. suit — clothes
  12. degree — temperature
  13. file — a document
  14. row — a line
  15. drill — the tool
  16. degree — from a university
  17. drill — army training
  18. row — to paddle

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