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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: degree · swing · drill · dip · file · stick · arm · fan

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. swing — in golf
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. file — a line of people
  10. drill — army training
  11. swing — to play on
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. drill — a practice
  18. swing — music
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. dip — to sink
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. drill — the tool
  24. degree — an amount

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