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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: file · toast · present · staff · degree · mate

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. 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. staff — a stick
  2. degree — from a university
  3. present — the time now
  4. mate — a partner
  5. present — a gift
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. staff — employees
  11. degree — temperature
  12. staff — employees
  13. file — a document
  14. file — a line of people
  15. toast — bread
  16. present — there
  17. file — a tool
  18. 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