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

Word bank: wax · snap · straw · pop · degree · fall · pound · court

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. degree — from a university
  5. pop — soda
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. court — of law
  8. pop — music
  9. court — of a king
  10. degree — an amount
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. fall — to drop
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wax — to grow
  22. court — for sport
  23. fall — the season
  24. pop — to visit

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