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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: file · shower · saw · wind · stick · degree · charge · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. file — a tool
  4. degree — from a university
  5. shower — rain
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. degree — temperature
  9. charge — in control
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. charge — a price
  15. shower — to wash
  16. file — a document
  17. saw — the tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. degree — an amount
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. charge — electricity
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wind — moving air

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