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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. degree — from a university
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. pound — a weight
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bound — obliged
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bound — tied together
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bound — certain
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rash — a series
  20. cold — not warm
  21. band — a music group
  22. wax — to grow
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rash — hasty

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