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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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Word bank
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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. present — there
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. rash — a series
  9. pit — in a race
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pit — a hole
  13. present — the time now
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. present — a gift
  16. degree — an amount
  17. cell — in biology
  18. kick — in football
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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