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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: last · ball · bear · plane · wax · march · calf · degree

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. ball — a dance
  7. plane — a tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. degree — temperature
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bear — the animal
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. march — the month
  21. last — to go on
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. march — music
  24. bear — the animal

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