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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: lean · wave · field · tear · degree · wax · racket · calf

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lean — thin
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. field — for sport
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. degree — an amount
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tear — from crying
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. field — a subject
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. degree — temperature

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