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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. perch — the fish
  4. degree — temperature
  5. content — happy
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. row — a line
  9. tube — the underground
  10. content — the amount
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bore — to drill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. degree — an amount
  22. row — to paddle
  23. kick — in football
  24. bore — to tire

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