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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 120 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: calf · wound · fan · file · hand · clip · degree · swing

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. hand — help
  5. wound — an injury
  6. hand — in cards
  7. swing — in golf
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. swing — to play on
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. wound — an injury
  15. swing — music
  16. degree — an amount
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. clip — a video
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. degree — from a university
  21. clip — to cut
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fan — a supporter

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