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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. degree — from a university
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. squash — the sport
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. perch — the fish
  13. saw — the tool
  14. degree — temperature
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. tube — the underground
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. tube — a container
  20. lie — to recline
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. perch — for a bird

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