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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wax — to grow
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cell — a phone
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. degree — temperature
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — in music
  10. cell — in biology
  11. snap — to click
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. tube — the underground
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. tube — a container
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — to roll

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