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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mate — a partner
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mate — a friend
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. capital — a city
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. wax — to grow
  17. capital — money
  18. mate — to breed
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pound — a weight
  23. degree — from a university
  24. pitcher — a jug

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