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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. lie — to recline
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. spring — a coil
  6. file — a line of people
  7. present — there
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. track — a song
  10. present — the time now
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — the season
  13. fine — all right
  14. degree — temperature
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. track — a path
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wax — to grow
  19. fine — high quality
  20. file — a document
  21. track — to keep track
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. present — a gift
  24. degree — an amount

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