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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. kid — child
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. cell — in biology
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. wax — to grow
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. kid — to tease

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