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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 120 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: wax · mine · bass · game · degree · deal · cap · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. deal — to handle
  3. degree — temperature
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. game — wild animals
  6. court — for sport
  7. degree — an amount
  8. court — of a king
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. game — a match
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a hat
  18. mine — for digging
  19. cap — a lid
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — low music
  24. deal — an agreement

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