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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. degree — temperature
  4. staff — employees
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. staff — employees
  18. wake — a trail
  19. row — to paddle
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. row — a line
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. arm — a part of something

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