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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wax — to grow
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. cap — of ice
  5. key — for a lock
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. key — in music
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. hand — in cards
  11. key — the most important part
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. degree — from a university
  15. hand — help
  16. pop — soda
  17. degree — an amount
  18. cap — a lid
  19. pop — music
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cap — a hat
  24. perch — the fish

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