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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: ground · file · degree · deal · shower · calf · safe · net

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. ground — a position
  4. net — after costs
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. file — a document
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. shower — to wash
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. shower — rain
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. net — in sport
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. net — for catching
  15. file — a tool
  16. ground — the earth
  17. deal — to handle
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. file — a line of people
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. degree — an amount
  22. ground — crushed
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. degree — temperature

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