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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: land · degree · clip · file · suit · saw · fan · tube

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. tube — a container
  3. clip — for paper
  4. suit — to fit
  5. degree — an amount
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — temperature
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. suit — in cards
  13. saw — the tool
  14. clip — to cut
  15. file — a document
  16. land — to come down
  17. clip — a video
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. file — a line of people
  20. suit — clothes
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. degree — from a university

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