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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. court — of a king
  3. net — in sport
  4. court — of law
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. net — after costs
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wax — to grow
  10. court — for sport
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. degree — temperature
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. tube — the underground
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. spell — a short time
  17. foot — a measure
  18. spell — letters
  19. degree — an amount
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. tube — a container
  24. net — for catching

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