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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pit — a hole
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. pit — in a race
  9. root — of a word
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. vault — a safe
  14. perch — the fish
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. root — of a plant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. root — the cause
  19. degree — an amount
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rush — hurry
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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