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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 116 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: kid · game · chair · prune · degree · mug · rock · file

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kid — to tease
  5. mug — a face
  6. file — a document
  7. mug — to rob
  8. kid — child
  9. chair — a leader
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. file — a tool
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rock — music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. degree — an amount
  17. game — a match
  18. prune — to trim
  19. game — wild animals
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mug — a cup
  23. rock — a stone
  24. chair — to sit on

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