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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. degree — an amount
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. march — the month
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. degree — temperature
  10. march — music
  11. race — a contest
  12. wax — to grow
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. degree — from a university
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. capital — a city
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. capital — money
  23. stand — to bear
  24. march — the month

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