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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kick — in football
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — temperature
  7. hand — help
  8. squash — to crush
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. season — in sport
  11. staff — employees
  12. clip — a video
  13. season — of the year
  14. staff — employees
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wax — to grow
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. hand — in cards
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. clip — to cut
  22. degree — from a university
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. staff — a stick

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