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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 116 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. degree — from a university
  3. cell — a phone
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of law
  6. wax — to grow
  7. cell — in biology
  8. degree — temperature
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fork — in a road
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. object — an aim
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mug — a face
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — to protest
  22. mug — to rob
  23. court — of a king
  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