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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. row — to paddle
  3. spell — a short time
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. pit — in a race
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. cap — of ice
  8. march — the month
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. spell — magic
  11. pit — a hole
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. spell — letters
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cap — a lid
  19. degree — temperature
  20. march — music
  21. wax — to grow
  22. march — the month
  23. degree — from a university
  24. row — a line

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