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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bank · cold · pitcher · bear · degree · wax · sharp · kick

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kick — in football
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. sharp — clever
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wax — to grow
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bank — for money

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