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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. ground — crushed
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — temperature
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. ground — the earth
  7. present — a gift
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. date — the fruit
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. present — the time now
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. present — there
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. ground — a position
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. date — on the calendar

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