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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. mug — a face
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wax — to grow
  9. drill — the tool
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. squash — to crush
  13. drill — a practice
  14. squash — the sport
  15. pitch — completely
  16. cap — of ice
  17. mug — a cup
  18. degree — temperature
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wake — a trail
  23. drill — army training
  24. cap — a hat

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