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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wax — to grow
  4. kid — child
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. kid — to tease
  10. drill — the tool
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. rest — what's left
  14. roll — a list
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. march — the month
  18. rest — a break
  19. roll — a cake
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wax — in the ear

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