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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: wax · arm · kick · pound · degree · present

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

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

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