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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. degree — from a university
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. degree — an amount
  6. court — for sport
  7. season — of the year
  8. chip — to eat
  9. land — to come down
  10. court — of a king
  11. degree — temperature
  12. season — in sport
  13. court — of law
  14. land — ground
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — in a race
  17. rush — hurry
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. land — a country
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. rush — to hurry

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