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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.

Make a worksheet

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: last · degree · spell · chest · mate · wax · bowl · ground

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chest — a box
  4. last — to go on
  5. ground — a position
  6. spell — letters
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wax — to grow
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — magic
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. mate — a friend
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mate — to breed
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. last — final
  21. mate — a partner
  22. last — finally
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. chest — of your body

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