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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
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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: mouse · wax · last · date · tear · hide · degree · roll

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. degree — from a university
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — temperature
  12. last — finally
  13. roll — a list
  14. tear — from crying
  15. last — final
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. roll — a cake
  19. last — to go on
  20. wax — to grow
  21. date — the fruit
  22. degree — an amount
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. hide — animal skin

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