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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 116 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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wax — to grow
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. fine — all right
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. degree — temperature
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. degree — from a university
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — a committee
  17. stock — goods
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. stock — shares
  21. board — to get on
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. stock — a soup base

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