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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · root · pitch · degree · game · date · wax · row

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ball — a great time
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. ball — a dance
  12. root — of a plant
  13. game — a match
  14. root — the cause
  15. game — wild animals
  16. root — of a word
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. degree — from a university
  19. date — the fruit
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pitch — completely
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pitch — a sports field

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