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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.

Words on the sheet
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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. kid — child
  7. degree — from a university
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. file — a tool

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