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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. degree — an amount
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. degree — temperature
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mate — a partner
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mate — to breed
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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