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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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. season — of the year
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pass — a permit
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. season — in sport
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. degree — an amount
  14. mark — a grade
  15. degree — temperature
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. foot — a measure
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mark — a trace
  20. cap — of ice
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. cap — a lid
  24. stock — shares

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