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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. degree — from a university
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pop — soda
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. degree — temperature
  10. file — a document
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. pound — a weight
  13. fine — high quality
  14. file — a line of people
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. pop — to visit
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. file — a tool
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. fine — all right
  24. degree — an amount

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