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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. charge — electricity
  4. march — music
  5. wax — to grow
  6. lie — to recline
  7. march — the month
  8. staff — employees
  9. charge — in control
  10. stem — to come from
  11. degree — from a university
  12. staff — a stick
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. march — the month
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. charge — a price
  17. staff — employees
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. degree — an amount
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. lie — an untruth

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