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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: firm · club · wax · shower · hide · file · degree · capital

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. shower — to wash
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. club — for golf
  8. file — a tool
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. capital — money
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. club — a group
  15. wax — to grow
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. firm — a company
  19. degree — temperature
  20. file — a document
  21. capital — a city
  22. firm — steady
  23. file — a line of people
  24. firm — decided

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