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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. land — ground
  4. degree — an amount
  5. degree — from a university
  6. present — a gift
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cap — of ice
  9. land — a country
  10. degree — temperature
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. court — of law
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. present — the time now
  18. court — for sport
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. present — there
  23. court — of a king
  24. chair — a professorship

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