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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.

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: degree · mine · lean · wax · cue · fork · file · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cue — a signal
  3. degree — from a university
  4. fork — in a road
  5. file — a document
  6. lean — thin
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cue — a hint
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. file — a tool
  14. cue — for pool
  15. land — ground
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lean — to bend
  20. land — a country
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wax — to grow
  24. file — a line of people

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