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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bore — to drill
  8. land — to come down
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. land — ground
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. land — a country
  14. bore — to tire
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitch — completely
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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