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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. degree — from a university
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. field — farmland
  7. wax — to grow
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fall — to drop
  10. club — a group
  11. field — a subject
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. degree — temperature
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. field — for sport
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. club — for golf
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. fall — to drop
  23. club — for dancing
  24. fall — the season

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