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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. wax — to grow
  5. stock — goods
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. track — a path
  8. bass — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. degree — from a university
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bass — low music
  15. track — a song
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. track — to keep track
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. stock — shares
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. perch — the fish
  24. degree — temperature

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