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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. object — to protest
  3. wax — to grow
  4. band — a music group
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. game — a match
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. object — an aim
  15. degree — temperature
  16. object — a thing
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. game — wild animals
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pitch — completely
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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