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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. kid — to tease
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bank — for money
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. march — the month
  11. roll — a cake
  12. degree — an amount
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. degree — from a university
  15. march — music
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bank — for money
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — child
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bank — of a river
  23. roll — a list
  24. wax — to grow

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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