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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: fine · net · trunk · cue · pit · ground · degree · wax

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. cue — for pool
  3. ground — a position
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. cue — a signal
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. degree — from a university
  10. pit — in a race
  11. fine — all right
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. degree — temperature
  14. net — for catching
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cue — a hint
  17. net — after costs
  18. fine — high quality
  19. pit — a hole
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. wax — to grow
  22. ground — the earth
  23. ground — crushed
  24. net — in sport

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