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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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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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. plane — a tool
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. saw — the tool
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. net — after costs
  12. file — a tool
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. file — a document
  15. degree — temperature
  16. net — in sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. saw — the tool
  19. file — a line of people
  20. degree — from a university
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. net — for catching
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wax — to grow

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