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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  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. wax — to grow
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. degree — temperature
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. press — a publisher
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stand — to bear
  18. date — the fruit
  19. press — newspapers
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. press — to push
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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