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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 116 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: last · charge · degree · stick · tear · bat · present · wax

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wax — to grow
  3. tear — to rip
  4. last — final
  5. present — there
  6. degree — temperature
  7. charge — electricity
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. tear — from crying
  12. last — finally
  13. present — the time now
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. last — to go on
  16. charge — a price
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. tear — from crying
  19. degree — from a university
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. present — a gift
  22. charge — in control
  23. bat — the animal
  24. degree — an amount

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