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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: bear · nail · saw · wax · degree · chair · scale · sharp

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. degree — an amount
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. wax — to grow
  6. scale — in music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. chair — a leader
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. degree — temperature
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — from a university

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