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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: kid · degree · pop · stick · bank · wax · shower · cabinet

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. bank — of a river
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. shower — rain
  8. pop — soda
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. kid — child
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wax — to grow
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bank — for money
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. degree — temperature
  18. shower — to wash
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pop — to visit
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. pop — music

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