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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. degree — an amount
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. last — final
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — to grow
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. last — to go on
  12. degree — temperature
  13. can — a tin
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. last — finally

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