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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: current · cabinet · spell · file · fall · degree · cell · date

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. degree — from a university
  3. current — of water
  4. degree — an amount
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a document
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. spell — letters
  11. current — happening now
  12. spell — magic
  13. date — the fruit
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cell — a phone
  20. current — electric
  21. fall — the season
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cell — in biology

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