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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. degree — from a university
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. rush — hurry
  8. ball — a dance
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. swing — music
  15. swing — to play on
  16. ball — a great time
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. hand — help
  20. wax — to grow
  21. degree — an amount
  22. perch — the fish
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. swing — in golf

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