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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: net · degree · vault · current · court · pop · wax · cabinet

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. current — electric
  3. net — after costs
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. court — for sport
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pop — music
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. current — happening now
  16. net — for catching
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. net — in sport
  21. vault — a safe
  22. current — of water
  23. degree — from a university
  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