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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. key — for a lock
  3. squash — to crush
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — a partner
  7. key — in music
  8. wax — to grow
  9. degree — from a university
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. net — for catching
  12. spring — the season
  13. mate — to breed
  14. squash — the sport
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. net — after costs
  18. key — the most important part
  19. spring — of water
  20. degree — temperature
  21. court — of law
  22. net — in sport
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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