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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. fine — all right
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. land — to come down
  9. land — a country
  10. key — in music
  11. kid — child
  12. key — for a lock
  13. degree — from a university
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fine — high quality
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kid — to tease
  23. key — the most important part
  24. degree — an amount

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