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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. degree — temperature
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. drill — the tool
  12. season — in sport
  13. game — a match
  14. drill — a practice
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — in football
  19. drill — army training
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. season — of the year

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