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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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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: fork · mate · wax · court · rock · degree · kick · cap

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cap — a lid
  4. court — for sport
  5. mate — to breed
  6. degree — temperature
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — in a road
  9. kick — in football
  10. cap — a hat
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wax — to grow
  15. degree — from a university
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rock — music
  19. mate — a partner
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. cap — of ice
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. mate — a friend

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