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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. vault — a safe
  8. can — a tin
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wax — to grow
  11. ground — a position
  12. degree — temperature
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. can — a tin
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. ground — crushed
  22. can — to be able to
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. ground — the earth

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