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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lean — thin
  4. cell — a phone
  5. firm — decided
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. lean — to bend
  9. wind — moving air
  10. firm — steady
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. firm — a company
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. degree — temperature
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wind — moving air
  20. dip — to sink
  21. lie — to recline
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. lie — an untruth
  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