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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 · chair · stick · scale · pit

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pit — a hole
  3. wax — to grow
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pit — in a race
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. scale — size or range
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. degree — from a university
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. scale — in music
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. degree — an amount

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