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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: net · fork · degree · bound · wax · mouse · court · roll

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. degree — an amount
  3. court — for sport
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wax — to grow
  6. degree — temperature
  7. net — for catching
  8. bound — certain
  9. roll — a list
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. net — after costs
  12. roll — a cake
  13. court — of law
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. net — in sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. fork — in a road
  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