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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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Word bank
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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: tube · cap · march · craft · hide · degree · wax · race

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. degree — temperature
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. cap — a lid
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. tube — the underground
  7. march — music
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. craft — boats
  11. degree — an amount
  12. craft — a skill
  13. march — the month
  14. race — a contest
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. race — humankind
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cap — of ice
  19. tube — a container
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cap — a hat
  23. degree — from a university
  24. race — the arms 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