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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: nail · fall · game · kick · rock · file · degree · spell

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. degree — temperature
  4. game — wild animals
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. fall — the season
  8. file — a document
  9. file — a tool
  10. game — a match
  11. spell — a short time
  12. rock — music
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. degree — an amount
  16. rock — a stone
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. kick — in football
  21. fall — to drop
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fall — to drop

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