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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. degree — temperature
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. spring — of water
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a dance
  9. scale — size or range
  10. wax — to grow
  11. degree — from a university
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. scale — in music
  18. bear — the animal
  19. degree — an amount
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stand — to bear
  22. spring — the season
  23. ball — a great time
  24. tear — to rip

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