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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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468
Word bank
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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. race — humankind
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kick — in football
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. chest — a box
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — an amount
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. chest — of your body

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