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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bore — to drill
  3. race — humankind
  4. degree — from a university
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. degree — an amount
  8. plane — a tool
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. content — happy
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wax — to grow
  17. content — the amount
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. wake — a trail
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to tire
  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