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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cap — a lid
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. clip — a video
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. foot — a measure
  9. game — a match
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. degree — from a university
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cap — a hat
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. degree — an amount
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. degree — temperature
  23. lean — thin
  24. pound — a weight

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