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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: march · degree · wax · cabinet · date · land · rock · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. land — to come down
  4. degree — an amount
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. degree — from a university
  7. rock — a stone
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. land — ground
  10. march — the month
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. march — music
  13. rock — music
  14. march — the month
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. degree — temperature
  19. land — a country
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. date — the fruit
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — to grow

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