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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 120 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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. lie — to recline
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. spring — the season
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. kid — to tease
  13. spring — of water
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wax — to grow
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. lie — an untruth

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