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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. key — the most important part
  3. present — there
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — the time now
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. key — for a lock
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — from a university
  11. rash — a series
  12. wax — to grow
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. key — in music
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. degree — temperature
  21. rash — hasty
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — to shout

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