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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 120 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: press · staff · degree · calf · wax · ruler · kid · coach

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. kid — child
  4. degree — temperature
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — employees
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. press — to push
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. staff — employees
  19. degree — an amount
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. press — newspapers
  22. staff — a stick
  23. wax — to grow
  24. calf — a young animal

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