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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: squash · craft · game · degree · cold · wax · pass · pop

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. pop — music
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pop — soda
  7. craft — a skill
  8. degree — an amount
  9. wax — to grow
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. craft — boats
  13. pass — a permit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. game — wild animals
  17. degree — temperature
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. cold — not warm
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. squash — the sport
  24. cold — an illness

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