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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
468
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: file · game · pass · degree · fine · shower · kid · scale

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. file — a tool
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fine — all right
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pass — a permit
  13. degree — from a university
  14. fine — high quality
  15. kid — child
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. game — a match
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. shower — rain
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a document
  23. degree — temperature
  24. kid — to tease

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