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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: tube · wax · sharp · face · perch · degree · last · pitch

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. degree — an amount
  5. last — to go on
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — the fish
  8. tube — the underground
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. face — part of the head
  11. degree — from a university
  12. last — final
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. last — finally
  15. sharp — clever
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. degree — temperature
  19. pitch — completely
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wax — to grow
  23. tube — a container
  24. sharp — with an edge

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