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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. snap — to click
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. degree — temperature
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. perch — the fish
  16. degree — an amount
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. ball — a great time
  19. toast — bread
  20. kid — child
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kid — to tease
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. perch — for a bird

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