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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. can — a tin
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. root — of a word
  7. can — a tin
  8. can — to be able to
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. spring — the season
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. pop — music
  14. cap — a lid
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cap — of ice
  17. root — of a plant
  18. wax — to grow
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — to visit
  21. pound — a weight
  22. cap — a hat
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. root — the cause

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