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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. spring — a coil
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mark — a grade
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. degree — temperature
  12. scale — in music
  13. spring — the season
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cap — a lid
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. mark — a trace
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. scale — size or range
  21. spring — of water
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — in the ear

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