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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: rule · dip · court · wax · degree · field · mug · pop

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mug — to rob
  5. field — a subject
  6. rule — government
  7. pop — soda
  8. mug — a face
  9. pop — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. rule — a law
  15. degree — from a university
  16. court — for sport
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. field — farmland
  20. degree — temperature
  21. court — of law
  22. dip — to sink
  23. mug — a cup
  24. field — for 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