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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 120 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — the most important part
  4. season — of the year
  5. degree — temperature
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. degree — an amount
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. key — in music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. court — of law
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pass — a permit
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bore — to tire
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bore — to drill
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. season — in sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. pass — to spend time

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