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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. degree — temperature
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. squash — to crush
  5. band — a ring
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. pop — to visit
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. squash — the sport
  11. pop — music
  12. band — a music group
  13. land — to come down
  14. pop — soda
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. toast — bread
  17. land — ground
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wax — to grow
  20. land — a country
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. degree — from a university
  24. wax — in the ear

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