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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 124 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: degree · cabinet · pitch · pop · march · court · wax · ground

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. ground — the earth
  3. march — music
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. wax — to grow
  6. march — the month
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. degree — from a university
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. march — the month
  13. degree — an amount
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — music
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. pitch — completely
  18. court — of law
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. ground — crushed
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. ground — a position
  24. cabinet — ministers

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