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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: object · date · wax · rule · bass · roll · degree · cue

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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. object — to protest
  2. degree — from a university
  3. roll — a cake
  4. bass — the fish
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. roll — a list
  8. degree — temperature
  9. wax — to grow
  10. rule — a law
  11. cue — a signal
  12. bass — low music
  13. object — a thing
  14. cue — for pool
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. object — an aim
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cue — a hint
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rule — government
  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