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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: degree · rule · file · wave · lean · bank · prune · chest

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. degree — temperature
  4. file — a tool
  5. lean — to bend
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lean — thin
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bank — of a river
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. prune — to trim
  12. file — a line of people
  13. chest — a box
  14. prune — to trim
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rule — government
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. file — a document
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bank — for money
  22. rule — a law
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. bank — for money

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