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

Word bank: calf · wax · degree · chest · deal · press

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. press — newspapers
  4. chest — of your body
  5. press — to push
  6. wax — to grow
  7. degree — temperature
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. chest — of your body
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chest — a box
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. press — a publisher

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