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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. march — music
  3. cap — a hat
  4. present — the time now
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. march — the month
  8. cap — a lid
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. cap — of ice
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. present — there
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. degree — temperature
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. present — a gift
  20. wax — to grow
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. march — the month

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