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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 116 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. key — the most important part
  3. degree — from a university
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rush — hurry
  6. degree — temperature
  7. key — in music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. row — to paddle
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. suit — to fit
  14. suit — in cards
  15. key — for a lock
  16. cold — not warm
  17. degree — an amount
  18. suit — clothes
  19. chip — to eat
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. row — a line
  24. wax — to grow

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