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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wax · ground · content · land · ball · degree · bank · plane

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. ball — a dance
  4. plane — a tool
  5. content — the amount
  6. land — ground
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. degree — an amount
  9. bank — for money
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. ground — a position
  13. land — to come down
  14. degree — from a university
  15. land — a country
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bank — of a river
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bank — for money
  21. wax — to grow
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ground — the earth

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