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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.

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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: club · sharp · file · degree · cell · bear · straw · board

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. file — a document
  3. cell — a phone
  4. bear — the animal
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — in biology
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. file — a tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bear — the animal
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. club — a group
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. club — for golf
  21. file — a line of people
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — to get on
  24. bear — to put up with

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