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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: squash · wax · chest · cell · game · mouse · foot · degree

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. wax — to grow
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chest — a box
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. foot — a measure
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — the sport
  22. game — a match
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. foot — the bottom

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