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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. march — music
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. degree — an amount
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. clip — a video
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. pitch — completely
  15. clip — for paper
  16. spring — of water
  17. board — a committee
  18. march — the month
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. march — the month
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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