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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 116 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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. club — a group
  3. court — for sport
  4. degree — from a university
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. degree — an amount
  7. sharp — clever
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. object — a thing
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. court — of law
  15. object — to protest
  16. hand — in cards
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. club — for dancing
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. court — of a king
  21. club — for golf
  22. hand — help
  23. object — an aim
  24. sharp — with an edge

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