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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. club — for dancing
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wind — moving air
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. club — a group
  9. race — a contest
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cue — for pool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cue — a signal
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cue — a hint
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. degree — from a university
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. pound — a weight
  23. club — for golf
  24. pound — to hit hard

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