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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. mate — to breed
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. capital — a city
  7. mate — a partner
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. capital — money
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. foot — a measure
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. degree — from a university
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. vault — a safe
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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