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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: kick · degree · scale · wax · sharp · fall · ground · nail

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. ground — the earth
  3. fall — the season
  4. ground — a position
  5. wax — to grow
  6. scale — in music
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. ground — crushed
  11. sharp — clever
  12. kick — in football
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. fall — to drop
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — temperature
  19. scale — size or range
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. fall — to drop

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