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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. can — to be able to
  3. degree — an amount
  4. rash — hasty
  5. field — farmland
  6. rash — a series
  7. field — a subject
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. season — of the year
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. can — a tin
  15. field — for sport
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. season — in sport
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. can — a tin
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wax — to grow
  24. wax — for sculpting

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