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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. degree — an amount
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. sharp — clever
  11. stand — to bear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. degree — from a university
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. content — happy
  16. capital — money
  17. content — the amount
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. capital — a city
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. degree — temperature

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