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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. degree — from a university
  3. ball — a great time
  4. can — to be able to
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. degree — temperature
  7. court — of a king
  8. degree — an amount
  9. court — of law
  10. band — a ring
  11. can — a tin
  12. wound — an injury
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a partner
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wax — to grow
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. band — a music group
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. can — a tin
  22. mate — a friend
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. ball — a dance

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