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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. court — of a king
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cold — not warm
  6. degree — from a university
  7. firm — decided
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rest — a break
  12. firm — steady
  13. wax — to grow
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. firm — a company
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. court — of law
  20. swing — music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. degree — an amount
  23. court — for sport
  24. swing — in golf

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