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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: degree · drill · leaves · file · trunk · hand · game · cell

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. drill — army training
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. file — a line of people
  7. drill — the tool
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cell — a phone
  10. drill — a practice
  11. cell — in biology
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. file — a document
  15. game — a match
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — from a university
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. game — wild animals
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. file — a tool
  22. hand — help
  23. degree — an amount
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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