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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. degree — an amount
  5. club — a group
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. season — of the year
  10. degree — from a university
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. club — for golf
  13. stock — goods
  14. wax — to grow
  15. kid — child
  16. degree — temperature
  17. season — in sport
  18. club — for dancing
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. stock — shares
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. wax — for sculpting

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