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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pit — a hole
  5. degree — temperature
  6. craft — boats
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fork — in a road
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. degree — from a university
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. pit — in a race
  23. craft — a skill
  24. bulb — for light

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