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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 116 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. degree — an amount
  6. march — music
  7. mug — a face
  8. march — the month
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. stock — goods
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stock — shares
  18. mug — a cup
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. mug — to rob
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. degree — from a university
  24. bat — the animal

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