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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 120 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: pound · mark · press · kid · firm · wax · cap · degree

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. kid — child
  3. wax — to grow
  4. mark — a grade
  5. degree — from a university
  6. press — newspapers
  7. press — to push
  8. press — a publisher
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. degree — an amount
  11. firm — steady
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pound — a weight
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. firm — decided
  19. mark — a trace
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. firm — a company
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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