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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. race — a contest
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. press — a publisher
  11. ground — the earth
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. race — the arms race
  15. degree — from a university
  16. race — humankind
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wax — to grow

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