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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. kid — child
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. net — for catching
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. degree — from a university
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. degree — temperature
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rule — government
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. suit — clothes
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. suit — in cards
  19. suit — to fit
  20. net — after costs
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. net — in sport
  23. kid — to tease
  24. wax — to grow

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