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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.

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: pitcher · bowl · degree · club · plane · wax · file · mine

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. file — a tool
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wax — to grow
  7. degree — temperature
  8. plane — a tool
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. club — a group
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. club — for golf
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. club — for dancing
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. degree — an amount
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bowl — to roll

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