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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. degree — from a university
  6. clip — a video
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — for paper
  9. degree — temperature
  10. field — farmland
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. field — for sport
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wax — to grow

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