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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 120 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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. race — a contest
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. cap — a hat
  7. race — humankind
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. degree — temperature
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cap — a lid
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. cap — of ice
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stand — to bear
  20. race — the arms race
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stand — on your feet

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