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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 120 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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. degree — an amount
  4. court — for sport
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. degree — from a university
  7. court — of a king
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. court — of law
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cold — not warm
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cap — of ice
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cap — a lid
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. wax — for sculpting

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