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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. court — for sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bulb — for light
  6. spell — magic
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. spell — a short time
  9. court — of a king
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pop — music
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pop — soda
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. chest — a box
  17. pop — to visit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. spell — letters
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. court — of law
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bear — the animal
  24. chest — of your body

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