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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: spring · suit · cap · leaves · pop · degree · wax · game

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. degree — an amount
  2. pop — to visit
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cap — a hat
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. suit — in cards
  9. spring — the season
  10. game — a match
  11. spring — of water
  12. pop — music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. suit — clothes
  16. degree — from a university
  17. suit — to fit
  18. pop — soda
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cap — of ice
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  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