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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 116 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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. last — finally
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — final
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. row — a line
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. row — to paddle

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