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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. degree — an amount
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. mark — a grade
  6. vault — a safe
  7. dip — to sink
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mark — a trace
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. cold — not warm
  19. degree — from a university
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — an illness
  22. degree — temperature
  23. rest — a break
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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