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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 · current · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. toast — bread
  3. degree — from a university
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. present — a gift
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — temperature
  8. file — a tool
  9. staff — employees
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. mate — a partner
  15. staff — a stick
  16. present — there
  17. current — of water
  18. mate — a friend
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. file — a document
  21. present — the time now
  22. staff — employees
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mate — to breed

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