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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. degree — temperature
  6. tube — a container
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bank — for money
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bank — for money
  13. kid — child
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. perch — the fish
  17. wax — to grow
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. degree — from a university
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bank — of a river
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. hand — help

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