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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: drill · firm · cell · current · squash · wax · mate · degree

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cell — in biology
  7. degree — temperature
  8. drill — army training
  9. mate — a friend
  10. current — of water
  11. drill — a practice
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — a company
  14. current — happening now
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cell — a phone
  17. squash — to crush
  18. firm — decided
  19. current — electric
  20. drill — the tool
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — to breed

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