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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 120 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: degree · wax · bat · cabinet · swing · mine · key · rash

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. rash — a series
  5. degree — from a university
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. degree — temperature
  12. key — in music
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rash — hasty
  16. degree — an amount
  17. key — for a lock
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. mine — for digging
  21. key — the most important part
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. wax — to grow
  24. rash — on the skin

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