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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. land — a country
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bat — the animal
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pound — a weight
  8. land — ground
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. wax — to grow
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. land — to come down
  18. pound — to hit hard

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