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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: saw · bat · cue · land · degree · prune · rash · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. saw — the tool
  3. land — ground
  4. file — a document
  5. rash — a series
  6. file — a tool
  7. bat — the animal
  8. land — a country
  9. degree — temperature
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. degree — an amount
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — a signal
  17. rash — hasty
  18. land — to come down
  19. degree — from a university
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cue — for pool

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