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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 · hand · staff · cap · tube · scale · degree · foot

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tube — the underground
  3. cap — of ice
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. degree — temperature
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. staff — a stick
  8. tube — a container
  9. file — a document
  10. degree — from a university
  11. staff — employees
  12. hand — help
  13. foot — a measure
  14. cap — a hat
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. scale — in music
  17. file — a tool
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. cap — a lid
  20. hand — in cards
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. degree — an amount
  23. scale — size or range
  24. file — a line of people

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