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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: bulb · wax · ruler · court · degree · pitch · bat · pound

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. wax — to grow
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. court — of a king
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pound — a weight
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. court — for sport
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pitch — completely
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. bulb — for light
  19. court — of law
  20. degree — temperature
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wax — for sculpting

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