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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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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. wax — to grow
  3. craft — a skill
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. kid — child
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. craft — boats
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. degree — from a university
  13. chest — of your body
  14. dip — to sink
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kid — to tease
  18. dip — a sauce

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