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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cue — a hint
  3. court — of a king
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. scale — size or range
  6. scale — in music
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. net — after costs
  9. court — for sport
  10. degree — from a university
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cue — a signal
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. net — in sport
  18. wax — to grow
  19. cue — for pool
  20. net — for catching
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. court — of law

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