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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.

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: perch · charge · degree · hand · squash · leaves · wax · vault

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. charge — electricity
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. squash — to crush
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. vault — a safe
  12. charge — in control
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. degree — from a university
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. hand — in cards
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. degree — temperature
  19. hand — help
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. wax — to grow
  22. charge — a price
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — the fish

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