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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: cell · bore · cap · swing · dip · file · roll · degree

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. file — a tool
  3. cap — a lid
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. degree — an amount
  6. file — a document
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cap — a hat
  10. dip — to sink
  11. bore — to tire
  12. roll — a cake
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — from a university
  17. cell — a phone
  18. degree — temperature
  19. swing — music
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. cap — of ice

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