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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. degree — from a university
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to bend
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. court — of a king
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. degree — temperature
  9. object — a thing
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. foot — a measure
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. scale — size or range
  16. sharp — clever
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. object — to protest
  19. degree — an amount
  20. wax — to grow
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. object — an aim
  24. court — of law

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