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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. degree — an amount
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cold — an illness
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rush — hurry
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. snap — to click
  20. bass — the fish
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. degree — temperature
  23. foot — a measure
  24. rush — a thrill

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