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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · race · cap · bay · band · mouse · pit · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cap — a lid
  6. degree — from a university
  7. band — a music group
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. race — humankind
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cap — of ice
  16. pit — a hole
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. band — a ring
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. race — a contest
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pit — in a race

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