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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: staff · cue · file · wind · nail · spell · mark · degree

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. degree — from a university
  3. staff — employees
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cue — for pool
  9. mark — a grade
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. file — a tool
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wind — moving air
  14. staff — employees
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. file — a document
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mark — a trace
  19. staff — a stick
  20. degree — an amount
  21. spell — letters
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — a hint
  24. nail — for a hammer

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