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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: nail · degree · fall · coach · file · mate · pit · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. fall — to drop
  4. last — to go on
  5. degree — from a university
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. fall — to drop
  9. mate — a partner
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pit — in a race
  13. file — a tool
  14. fall — the season
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. degree — an amount
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. file — a document
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. file — a line of people
  22. pit — a hole
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. last — final

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