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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. pound — a weight
  4. content — happy
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. current — electric
  11. tear — from crying
  12. suit — in cards
  13. court — of law
  14. suit — to fit
  15. court — of a king
  16. degree — temperature
  17. content — the amount
  18. wax — to grow
  19. current — happening now
  20. degree — from a university
  21. current — of water
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — to rip
  24. suit — clothes

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