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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 120 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 · fall · bark · cell

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. bank — for money
  5. degree — an amount
  6. bank — of a river
  7. file — a document
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. file — a tool
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. bank — for money
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bark — to shout
  18. degree — temperature

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