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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: content · firm · spell · file · rule · perch · degree · ground

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. firm — a company
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. ground — a position
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. degree — temperature
  8. rule — government
  9. ground — the earth
  10. degree — an amount
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spell — a short time
  13. file — a document
  14. rule — a law
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ground — crushed
  17. firm — steady
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. degree — from a university
  20. file — a line of people
  21. perch — the fish
  22. firm — decided
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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