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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: kick · file · trunk · game · degree · mouse · bat · capital

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bat — the animal
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. game — a match
  13. capital — money
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. file — a tool
  17. capital — a city
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. game — wild animals
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. file — a document
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. capital — a big letter

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