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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. row — to paddle
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — a contest
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wax — to grow
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. tear — to rip
  13. race — humankind
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. kid — to tease
  16. race — the arms race
  17. kid — child
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. row — a line
  20. degree — from a university
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. tear — from crying
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wax — for sculpting

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