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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: tear · lie · coach · wound · kick · wax · bowl · degree

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. degree — an amount
  3. kick — in football
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. lie — to recline
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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