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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
468
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: rule · tube · kick · file · wax · degree · cabinet · ball

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. tube — the underground
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. ball — a dance
  8. wax — to grow
  9. degree — temperature
  10. tube — a container
  11. kick — in football
  12. degree — an amount
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. ball — a great time
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. degree — from a university
  24. rule — a law

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