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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. swing — in golf
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. swing — music
  9. shower — to wash
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. shower — rain
  13. wax — to grow
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. degree — an amount
  19. swing — to play on
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. degree — temperature

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