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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: straw · mark · game · last · fan · degree · club · file

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. file — a line of people
  3. degree — temperature
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. game — wild animals
  6. file — a tool
  7. mark — a grade
  8. last — to go on
  9. club — for dancing
  10. club — a group
  11. mark — a trace
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. game — a match
  14. last — finally
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. degree — from a university
  17. last — final
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. degree — an amount
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. file — a document
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. club — for golf
  24. fan — a supporter

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