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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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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: shower · bank · pit · lean · hide · degree · temple · wax

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. degree — from a university
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. bank — for money
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bank — of a river
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bank — for money
  13. shower — to wash
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. pit — in a race
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. degree — temperature
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. shower — rain
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to bend

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