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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: fall · shower · degree · bank · object · prune · sharp · file

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bank — for money
  3. shower — rain
  4. sharp — clever
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — the season
  7. file — a line of people
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a document
  11. degree — an amount
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. degree — temperature
  15. object — a thing
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. fall — to drop
  20. prune — to trim
  21. shower — to wash
  22. fall — to drop
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. object — an aim

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