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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 · ruler · wax · march · chip · craft · kid · bass

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. march — music
  3. bass — low music
  4. march — the month
  5. degree — from a university
  6. craft — boats
  7. bass — the fish
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. degree — an amount
  12. chip — to eat
  13. wax — to grow
  14. march — the month
  15. craft — a skill
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. kid — child
  20. degree — temperature
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. chip — for betting

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