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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. degree — from a university
  3. march — music
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fall — the season
  7. face — to point toward
  8. cap — a hat
  9. face — part of the head
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. degree — an amount
  14. land — a country
  15. fall — to drop
  16. face — to confront
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wax — to grow
  19. land — ground
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. land — to come down

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