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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · racket · wax · wave · cell · degree

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. degree — an amount
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. cell — in biology
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wax — to grow
  18. tear — from crying

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