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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: pit · wax · net · lash · scale · degree · craft · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. scale — in music
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. hand — in cards
  6. degree — from a university
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. net — after costs
  9. hand — help
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. net — for catching
  13. scale — size or range
  14. craft — boats
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pit — a hole
  20. net — in sport
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wax — to grow
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pit — in a race

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