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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · fall · wax · hand · bat · wave · chair · degree

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — temperature
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. fall — the season
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. hand — help
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. degree — an amount
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. wax — to grow
  24. chair — a leader

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