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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: march · fall · rule · file · coach · degree · squash · spell

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. file — a line of people
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fall — the season
  6. spell — magic
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. march — the month
  9. rule — government
  10. rule — a law
  11. spell — letters
  12. squash — to crush
  13. march — the month
  14. squash — the sport
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — temperature
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. march — music
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. fall — to drop
  21. degree — an amount
  22. file — a tool
  23. spell — a short time
  24. fall — to drop

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