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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. degree — from a university
  3. drill — a practice
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. degree — an amount
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wax — to grow
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. drill — the tool
  11. lie — to recline
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. fall — the season
  14. drill — army training
  15. spell — a short time
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. net — after costs
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. degree — temperature
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. net — for catching

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