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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pop — to visit
  3. degree — from a university
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pop — music
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. track — to keep track
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pop — soda
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mate — to breed
  19. degree — an amount
  20. chair — a leader
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. track — a song
  23. track — a path
  24. mate — a friend

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