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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. track — to keep track
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. track — a path
  11. wax — to grow
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. pit — a hole
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. track — a song
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pit — in a race
  22. drill — a practice
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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