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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: shower · mate · staff · march · saw · object · file · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. staff — a stick
  3. march — music
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mate — to breed
  6. file — a tool
  7. shower — to wash
  8. degree — an amount
  9. saw — the tool
  10. shower — rain
  11. object — an aim
  12. file — a line of people
  13. mate — a partner
  14. file — a document
  15. saw — the tool
  16. staff — employees
  17. degree — temperature
  18. march — the month
  19. object — to protest
  20. march — the month
  21. staff — employees
  22. mate — a friend
  23. object — a thing
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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