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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: wax · pass · branch · hand · coach · degree · game · prune

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. game — a match
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. branch — a division
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. hand — help
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. pass — a permit
  11. wax — to grow
  12. hand — in cards
  13. game — wild animals
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. degree — from a university
  17. prune — to trim
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. prune — to trim
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — an amount
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pass — to succeed

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