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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · bass · wax · bay · craft · cold · degree · current

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. degree — from a university
  3. field — farmland
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bass — low music
  6. field — a subject
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. craft — boats
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. current — of water
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. current — electric
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. current — happening now
  18. wax — to grow
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. degree — temperature
  23. craft — a skill
  24. field — for sport

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