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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: ball · mate · bat · spell · wax · degree · bay · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. mate — a partner
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. mate — a friend
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. mate — to breed
  18. degree — from a university
  19. spell — magic
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. kick — in football
  24. spell — letters

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