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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
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: wax · staff · mate · wind · hand · degree · scale · lie

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wind — moving air
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. scale — in music
  6. staff — a stick
  7. mate — a partner
  8. staff — employees
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — from a university
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. lie — to recline
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. scale — size or range
  20. hand — help
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wind — moving air
  23. degree — temperature
  24. wax — to grow

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