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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 · cap · staff · wax · ball · shower · temple · current

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cap — of ice
  3. ball — a great time
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wax — to grow
  6. staff — employees
  7. cap — a hat
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. shower — to wash
  10. ball — a dance
  11. shower — rain
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. staff — a stick
  14. file — a document
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a line of people
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. current — of water
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — electric
  24. cap — a lid

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