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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: saw · degree · wave · file · hide · fan · march · rest

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. saw — the tool
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. rest — a break
  8. file — a document
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. file — a line of people
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. saw — the tool
  15. degree — temperature
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. file — a tool
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rest — what's left
  24. march — music

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