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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: tear · court · degree · mine · wax · temple · board · cabinet

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. mine — for digging
  5. court — for sport
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. degree — an amount
  10. board — a committee
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. court — of a king
  14. board — to get on
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. tear — from crying
  18. degree — temperature
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. tear — from crying
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. tear — to rip
  23. court — of law
  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