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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cap — a hat
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cap — of ice
  8. wax — to grow
  9. field — a subject
  10. degree — temperature
  11. cap — a lid
  12. shower — to wash
  13. kick — in football
  14. shower — rain
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. stand — to bear
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. degree — an amount
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — farmland
  24. stand — for spectators

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