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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 116 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rush — hurry
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. file — a document
  9. tear — to rip
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — from a university
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. file — a line of people
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. tear — from crying
  18. staff — a stick
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wind — moving air

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