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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tube — a container
  7. wax — to grow
  8. cold — an illness
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. suit — to fit
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. suit — clothes
  17. pitch — completely
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. suit — in cards
  24. tube — the underground

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