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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wax — to grow
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mate — a partner
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bat — the animal
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. mate — to breed
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. snap — to click
  24. mate — a friend

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