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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: can · degree · court · bark · wax · snap

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. 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. can — a tin
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. court — for sport
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. wax — to grow
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. court — of a king
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. bark — to shout
  18. 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