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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · degree · staff · net · can · file · wax · swing

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. file — a tool
  3. can — to be able to
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. degree — an amount
  6. file — a line of people
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. wax — to grow
  11. net — in sport
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. kid — to tease
  14. degree — from a university
  15. swing — music
  16. net — after costs
  17. file — a document
  18. can — a tin
  19. net — for catching
  20. can — a tin
  21. staff — employees
  22. swing — to play on
  23. staff — a stick
  24. swing — in golf

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