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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 · ball · file · shower · rule · pit · toast · perch

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. degree — from a university
  4. toast — bread
  5. pit — in a race
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. shower — rain
  8. rule — a law
  9. shower — to wash
  10. file — a tool
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — the fish
  13. file — a line of people
  14. degree — temperature
  15. ball — a great time
  16. ball — a dance
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pit — a hole
  22. rule — government
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rule — to rule out

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