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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. degree — an amount
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. chest — of your body
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chest — a box
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. face — to confront
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. face — to point toward

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