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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. track — a song
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bat — the animal
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wax — to grow
  9. march — the month
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cap — of ice
  12. degree — from a university
  13. snap — to click
  14. cap — a lid
  15. degree — temperature
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. march — the month
  21. track — a path
  22. degree — an amount
  23. track — to keep track
  24. march — music

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