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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. degree — temperature
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wax — to grow
  6. suit — to fit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. suit — clothes
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. degree — from a university
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mark — a trace
  15. prune — to trim
  16. suit — in cards
  17. stand — to bear
  18. mark — a grade
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. swing — music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. mine — for digging

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