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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: degree · net · court · file · coach · bulb · wake · wax

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. net — in sport
  3. bulb — for light
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. court — of law
  6. degree — temperature
  7. court — of a king
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. bulb — for light
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. file — a document
  13. wake — a trail
  14. file — a tool
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. net — for catching
  18. degree — an amount
  19. net — after costs
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. file — a line of people
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. degree — from a university

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