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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 120 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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wax — to grow
  4. branch — a division
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — an aim
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — in golf
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. kid — child
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bat — the animal
  24. object — a thing

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