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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — the tool
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. degree — an amount
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. drill — a practice
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. band — a music group
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. degree — from a university
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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