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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. squash — to crush
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. degree — temperature
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. perch — the fish
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. scale — size or range
  16. squash — the sport
  17. tube — a container
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. toast — bread
  20. scale — in music
  21. wax — to grow
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. mouse — for a computer

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