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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. bass — the fish
  3. track — a song
  4. wax — to grow
  5. degree — an amount
  6. track — to keep track
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. vault — a safe
  9. track — a path
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. fine — high quality
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. ground — crushed
  14. hand — help
  15. fine — all right
  16. ground — a position
  17. hand — in cards
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. bass — low music
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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