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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: face · drill · game · file · trunk · staff · degree · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. staff — a stick
  3. file — a line of people
  4. staff — employees
  5. file — a document
  6. drill — the tool
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. game — a match
  12. file — a tool
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. face — to point toward
  18. degree — from a university
  19. degree — an amount
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — army training
  23. staff — employees
  24. game — wild animals

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