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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wax · march · chip · bark · race · degree · tube · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. race — a contest
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. tube — the underground
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chip — for betting
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. tube — a container
  16. race — humankind
  17. degree — an amount
  18. race — the arms race
  19. march — music
  20. bark — to shout
  21. ground — a position
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chip — to eat
  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