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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: wake · degree · game · firm · wax · bank

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bank — for money
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. degree — from a university
  5. firm — steady
  6. wax — to grow
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. firm — decided
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bank — for money
  14. firm — a company
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. bank — of a river
  18. game — a match

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