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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 124 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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. capital — a city
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. shower — rain
  16. capital — money
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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