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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. perch — the fish
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. row — a line
  8. degree — temperature
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. hand — in cards
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wax — to grow
  15. tube — the underground
  16. row — to paddle
  17. hand — help
  18. tube — a container
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. calf — a young animal
  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