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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: pound · wax · rash · spell · chest · toast · degree · snap

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. rash — hasty
  8. chest — of your body
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. chest — a box
  13. pound — a weight
  14. rash — a series
  15. snap — to click
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spell — letters
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. toast — bread

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