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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. last — final
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. rock — music
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rock — a stone
  12. last — finally
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. last — to go on
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. board — to get on
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. degree — from a university
  24. board — a committee

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