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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. hand — help
  3. foot — a measure
  4. cue — for pool
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cue — a hint
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. can — to be able to
  11. hand — in cards
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wake — a trail
  15. degree — temperature
  16. can — a tin
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. wax — to grow
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cue — a signal
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. can — a tin
  24. degree — from a university

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