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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. mine — for digging
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cap — of ice
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cue — a hint
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. wax — to grow
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. press — to push
  18. cap — a lid
  19. press — newspapers
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cap — a hat
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wake — a trail

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