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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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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: leaves · bore · dip · court · wax · suit · degree · file

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. court — of law
  3. court — for sport
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. suit — to fit
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. dip — to sink
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. wax — to grow
  11. degree — from a university
  12. suit — clothes
  13. degree — temperature
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. bore — to drill
  16. court — of a king
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bore — to tire
  20. suit — in cards
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. leaves — of a tree

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