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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ground — the earth
  4. last — final
  5. degree — from a university
  6. last — finally
  7. wound — an injury
  8. firm — decided
  9. degree — temperature
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. firm — a company
  12. degree — an amount
  13. field — farmland
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ground — a position
  16. last — to go on
  17. craft — boats
  18. field — for sport
  19. craft — a skill
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. firm — steady
  22. field — a subject
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. ground — crushed

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