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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
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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: swing · spring · mouse · face · degree · court · wax · bowl

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. face — to confront
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. swing — in golf
  5. face — part of the head
  6. court — of a king
  7. spring — a coil
  8. swing — to play on
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. degree — temperature
  11. face — to point toward
  12. swing — music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. court — for sport
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — of water
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. court — of law
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. degree — an amount
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. wax — in the ear

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