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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: hand · row · wax · root · mate · snap · rest · degree

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rest — a break
  5. degree — temperature
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mate — a friend
  8. root — of a plant
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. row — a line
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. snap — to click
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. degree — an amount
  18. hand — help
  19. root — the cause
  20. root — of a word
  21. hand — in cards
  22. mate — a partner
  23. mate — to breed
  24. row — to paddle

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