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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 smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mug — a cup
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. wax — to grow
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. file — a tool
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. mug — a face
  18. mug — to rob
  19. stand — to bear
  20. prune — to trim
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. degree — an amount
  24. prune — to trim

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