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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. degree — from a university
  7. degree — temperature
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. scale — in music
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. file — a line of people
  12. degree — an amount
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. race — humankind
  16. file — a document
  17. race — a contest
  18. wax — to grow
  19. race — the arms race
  20. scale — size or range
  21. file — a tool
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — a dish

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