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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. band — a music group
  4. degree — from a university
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. stock — goods
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. court — of a king
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. court — for sport
  15. kid — child
  16. court — of law
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stock — shares
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. kid — to tease

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