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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. race — a contest
  3. degree — an amount
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rest — what's left
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. race — humankind
  13. mug — to rob
  14. rest — what's left
  15. mug — a cup
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. race — the arms race
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wax — to grow
  22. mug — a face
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rest — a break

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