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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. land — ground
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. last — finally
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rash — hasty
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — temperature
  13. rush — hurry
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — a country
  17. last — final
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. last — to go on
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. wave — of the sea

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