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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. present — there
  6. kick — in football
  7. degree — from a university
  8. present — the time now
  9. wax — to grow
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. hand — help
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pound — a weight
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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