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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 124 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. degree — an amount
  4. file — a document
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. land — to come down
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. land — a country
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. degree — temperature
  13. file — a line of people
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wax — to grow
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. stand — to bear
  18. degree — from a university
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. vault — a safe
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. file — a tool
  23. land — ground
  24. stand — for spectators

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