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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. band — a ring
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. root — of a word
  10. degree — an amount
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. scale — in music
  13. scale — size or range
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. root — the cause
  16. band — a music group
  17. wax — to grow
  18. degree — temperature
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. wave — with your hand

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