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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. land — to come down
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mark — a grade
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. degree — from a university
  8. land — a country
  9. race — humankind
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mark — a trace
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. race — the arms race
  14. degree — an amount
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bulb — for light
  17. race — a contest
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bass — low music
  20. wax — to grow
  21. land — ground
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. wax — for sculpting

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