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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.

Make a worksheet

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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wind — moving air
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. object — a thing
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wind — moving air
  9. degree — from a university
  10. scale — size or range
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. object — to protest
  16. object — an aim
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — an amount

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