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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. degree — an amount
  4. court — for sport
  5. pop — soda
  6. degree — from a university
  7. squash — to crush
  8. degree — temperature
  9. current — electric
  10. court — of a king
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. pop — to visit
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. current — of water
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. wax — to grow
  17. current — happening now
  18. court — of law
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. squash — the sport
  22. rush — hurry
  23. pop — music
  24. ruler — for measuring

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