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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.

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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: wave · calf · degree · scale · wind · bore · vault · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. degree — from a university
  12. spell — a short time
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. bore — to tire
  15. spell — magic
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wind — moving air
  18. vault — a safe
  19. wind — moving air
  20. scale — in music
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. degree — temperature
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. scale — size or range

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