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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 116 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: file · degree · clip · hand · mine · bank · safe · squash

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bank — of a river
  3. squash — to crush
  4. clip — for paper
  5. file — a line of people
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. bank — for money
  8. file — a document
  9. clip — a video
  10. file — a tool
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. degree — temperature
  16. clip — to cut
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bank — for money
  20. degree — an amount
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. hand — in cards

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