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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. wax — to grow
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. face — part of the head
  7. craft — boats
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. key — for a lock
  11. pound — a weight
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. face — to point toward
  16. ground — a position
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. key — in music
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. face — to confront
  21. craft — a skill
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. key — the most important part

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