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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.

Make a worksheet

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

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. degree — temperature
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cell — in biology
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wax — to grow
  10. key — for a lock
  11. rest — what's left
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. rest — a break
  15. degree — an amount
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. cell — a phone
  20. key — in music
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. key — the most important part
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. cell — in a prison

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