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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. lean — to bend
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — of a plant
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — a trace
  16. degree — temperature
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. degree — from a university
  19. root — the cause
  20. wind — moving air
  21. cap — of ice
  22. wax — to grow
  23. lean — thin
  24. wind — moving air

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