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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
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: object · degree · squash · clip · wax · land · suit · mate

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  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. land — ground
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. land — to come down
  4. suit — in cards
  5. clip — a video
  6. degree — an amount
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. clip — to cut
  10. suit — clothes
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. clip — for paper
  15. object — an aim
  16. wax — to grow
  17. squash — to crush
  18. suit — to fit
  19. land — a country
  20. degree — temperature
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. mate — a partner
  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