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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ground · band · wax · bass · snap · degree · spell · bear

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spell — magic
  3. snap — to click
  4. degree — temperature
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. ground — a position
  8. spell — letters
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. degree — from a university
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ground — crushed
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. spell — a short time
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bear — the animal
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. band — a ring
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bass — the fish

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