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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bark — to shout
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. degree — temperature
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. fine — all right
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. degree — from a university

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