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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 120 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
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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: coach · squash · rash · net · degree · clip · bark · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. net — for catching
  3. clip — a video
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. file — a document
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rash — a series
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. clip — for paper
  13. degree — an amount
  14. net — in sport
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. squash — the sport
  17. net — after costs
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rash — hasty
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. file — a line of people
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — temperature
  24. clip — to cut

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