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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: degree · kid · fall · ruler · file · coach · rash · chip

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — for betting
  6. file — a document
  7. fall — to drop
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kid — child
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. file — a tool
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. chip — to eat
  17. fall — the season
  18. degree — temperature
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a line of people
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rash — a series

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