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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: wax · degree · cold · firm · race · board · bear · roll

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. roll — a list
  3. wax — to grow
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cold — an illness
  6. race — a contest
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. race — humankind
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — not warm
  15. race — the arms race
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bear — the animal
  18. firm — steady
  19. firm — decided
  20. firm — a company
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. degree — an amount

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