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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bulb — for light
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. clip — a video
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. clip — for paper
  13. degree — temperature
  14. chair — a leader
  15. degree — an amount
  16. vault — a safe
  17. cap — of ice
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — a group
  24. chair — to sit on

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