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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 116 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. spell — letters
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bore — to tire
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. wax — to grow
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bore — to drill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. degree — temperature
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spell — magic
  14. degree — from a university
  15. shower — rain
  16. branch — a division
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. degree — an amount
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. spell — a short time
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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