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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — the time now
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pop — to visit
  9. scale — size or range
  10. land — a country
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pop — music
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. scale — in music
  16. pop — soda
  17. wax — to grow
  18. land — ground
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. present — a gift
  22. degree — temperature
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. land — to come down

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