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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. march — the month
  5. court — of law
  6. march — the month
  7. last — to go on
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — from a university
  12. march — music
  13. current — of water
  14. current — electric
  15. degree — temperature
  16. last — finally
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wax — to grow
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. current — happening now
  23. last — final
  24. court — for sport

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