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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 120 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. degree — an amount
  3. can — to be able to
  4. wax — to grow
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. cap — a hat
  8. cap — a lid
  9. scale — size or range
  10. stock — shares
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. shower — to wash
  13. can — a tin
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. stock — goods
  19. can — a tin
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. degree — from a university
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — rain
  24. scale — in music

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