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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: cabinet · file · track · game · bass · degree · date · land

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. degree — temperature
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. track — a song
  5. game — a match
  6. bass — the fish
  7. file — a tool
  8. land — to come down
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bass — low music
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. track — a path
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. degree — from a university
  20. game — wild animals
  21. degree — an amount
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. cabinet — ministers

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