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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. current — electric
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fine — all right
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wake — a trail
  11. current — happening now
  12. perch — the fish
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kick — in football
  15. net — after costs
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. net — for catching
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. fine — high quality
  20. current — of water
  21. wax — to grow
  22. degree — temperature
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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