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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. chip — for betting
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. perch — the fish
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. wax — to grow
  8. rash — hasty
  9. degree — temperature
  10. object — an aim
  11. hand — help
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. degree — an amount
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. chip — to eat
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rash — a series
  18. object — a thing
  19. degree — from a university
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. object — to protest
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. date — the fruit

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