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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: degree · bulb · prune · file · sharp · drill · snap · hand

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. 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. drill — a practice
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. degree — temperature
  4. file — a line of people
  5. drill — army training
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. sharp — clever
  8. hand — in cards
  9. file — a tool
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. degree — an amount
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. file — a document
  18. hand — help
  19. bulb — for light
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bulb — for light
  22. drill — the tool
  23. prune — to trim
  24. 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