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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: bank · suit · degree · file · fan · band · bat · sharp

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. band — a music group
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. suit — clothes
  7. file — a document
  8. bat — the animal
  9. suit — in cards
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. band — a ring
  15. file — a line of people
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. file — a tool
  19. bank — of a river
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. sharp — clever
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. suit — to fit
  24. degree — temperature

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