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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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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. degree — temperature
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cue — a hint
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cue — for pool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bank — for money
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cue — a signal
  15. root — of a word
  16. swing — in golf
  17. root — of a plant
  18. sharp — clever
  19. swing — music
  20. root — the cause
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bank — of a river
  24. swing — to play on

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