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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. degree — an amount
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rule — a law
  7. band — a music group
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. season — in sport
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. wound — an injury
  18. season — of the year
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. rule — government
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. bat — the animal

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