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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: toast · calf · degree · wax · cell · racket · rush · temple

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wax — to grow
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. cell — a phone
  12. degree — temperature
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. toast — bread
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. wax — in the ear

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