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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: shower · branch · wax · degree · fan · key · cold · scale

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. scale — size or range
  3. shower — to wash
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. degree — from a university
  8. degree — an amount
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cold — an illness
  11. degree — temperature
  12. key — in music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. scale — in music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. branch — a division
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. shower — rain
  23. key — for a lock
  24. branch — of a bank

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