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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. degree — temperature
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bore — to tire
  6. pop — soda
  7. degree — from a university
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. wax — to grow
  10. capital — a city
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cold — an illness
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. bore — to drill
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. capital — money
  24. stem — to come from

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