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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. mark — a trace
  6. staff — a stick
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. staff — employees
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. staff — employees
  15. stand — to bear
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wax — to grow
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. vault — a safe
  22. mark — a grade
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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