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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. degree — temperature
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. land — a country
  6. ground — a position
  7. land — to come down
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cell — a phone
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — a weight
  16. shower — rain
  17. degree — an amount
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ground — crushed
  20. land — ground
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cell — in biology
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pound — for dogs

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