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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chest — a box
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — in cards
  7. degree — temperature
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. chest — of your body
  12. scale — in music
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. hand — help
  21. chest — of your body
  22. toast — bread
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. hand — part of the body

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