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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: wax · bear · ball · bound · bat · hand · bass · degree

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  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. bass — the fish
  2. bound — certain
  3. bound — obliged
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. hand — help
  12. bat — the animal
  13. degree — temperature
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bear — the animal
  18. degree — from a university
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — in cards
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bass — low music
  23. ball — a dance
  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