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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: arm · degree · drill · file · coach · wake · saw · lean

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — an amount
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. saw — the tool
  6. file — a tool
  7. lean — thin
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. lean — to bend
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wake — a trail
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. lean — to rest against

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