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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. track — a path
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bank — of a river
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bank — for money
  11. clip — a video
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. clip — for paper
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cap — of ice
  16. track — a song
  17. track — to keep track
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wax — to grow
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bank — for money
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. cap — a hat
  24. sharp — clever

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