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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pop — music
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. pop — soda
  5. bore — to drill
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — an amount
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. ball — a great time
  14. pop — to visit
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wax — to grow
  17. scale — size or range
  18. ball — a dance
  19. bore — to tire
  20. scale — in music
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. degree — temperature
  24. scale — for weighing

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