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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: date · cap · lean · degree · spell · mine · wax · racket

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. spell — letters
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wax — to grow
  6. spell — a short time
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cap — of ice
  9. degree — an amount
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. spell — magic
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cap — a lid
  17. lean — to bend
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. lean — thin
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cap — a hat
  24. racket — for tennis

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