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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wax — to grow
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. lean — thin
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. degree — from a university
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. lean — to bend
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pop — soda
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pop — music
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. spell — letters
  19. race — humankind
  20. spell — magic
  21. pitch — completely
  22. spell — a short time
  23. sharp — clever
  24. pitch — a sports field

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