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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. degree — an amount
  3. foot — a measure
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. degree — temperature
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. fall — the season
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. fall — to drop
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stand — to bear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. date — the fruit
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fall — to drop

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