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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. root — the cause
  6. scale — in music
  7. vault — a safe
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. capital — a city
  10. net — in sport
  11. root — of a plant
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. net — for catching
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. capital — money
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. wax — to grow
  18. root — of a word
  19. scale — size or range
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. net — after costs
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — from a university

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