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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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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: deal · shower · safe · wax · race · current · kid · degree

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. shower — rain
  5. kid — to tease
  6. degree — an amount
  7. current — of water
  8. degree — from a university
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. current — electric
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. kid — child
  14. degree — temperature
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. current — happening now
  18. race — humankind
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. deal — to handle
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. wax — to grow

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