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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. kid — child
  4. plane — a tool
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. fall — to drop
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. degree — an amount
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. fall — the season
  17. saw — the tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. wake — a trail
  20. saw — the tool
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. wax — to grow

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