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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 120 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cap — a hat
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — for paper
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. land — to come down
  11. cap — of ice
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. clip — a video
  17. cap — a lid
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wake — a trail
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. racket — for tennis

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