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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 120 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
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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: mate · shower · file · press · degree · plane · sharp · wax

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. file — a tool
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. file — a line of people
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. degree — an amount
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wax — to grow
  12. degree — temperature
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — to wash
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. press — to push
  18. sharp — clever
  19. plane — a tool
  20. mate — to breed
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. file — a document
  23. shower — rain
  24. degree — from a university

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