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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wax · kick · perch · spell · stock · march · key · degree

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. spell — letters
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. key — in music
  8. degree — an amount
  9. perch — the fish
  10. march — music
  11. wax — to grow
  12. kick — in football
  13. march — the month
  14. spell — magic
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. spell — a short time
  17. key — the most important part
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stock — shares
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. march — the month
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. degree — from a university

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