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

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. degree — temperature
  3. last — final
  4. degree — an amount
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. last — finally
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. last — to go on
  9. saw — the tool
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wax — to grow
  16. saw — the tool
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting

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