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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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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: deal · file · bank · field · craft · tear · lean · degree

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. degree — from a university
  3. craft — boats
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. degree — an amount
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. file — a document
  8. tear — from crying
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. bank — for money
  11. lean — to bend
  12. field — farmland
  13. degree — temperature
  14. deal — to handle
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. craft — a skill
  17. field — for sport
  18. bank — of a river
  19. tear — to rip
  20. lean — thin
  21. field — a subject
  22. tear — from crying
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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