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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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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 · degree · cold · firm · race · board

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. firm — steady
  3. degree — temperature
  4. degree — an amount
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. firm — a company
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. race — humankind
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. race — a contest
  11. firm — decided
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. cold — an illness
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — to get on
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cold — not warm
  18. degree — from a university

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