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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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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: bay · hand · cabinet · pass · wax · fork · degree · bass

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fork — in a road
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pass — a permit
  7. wax — to grow
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. hand — help
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. bass — low music
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. hand — in cards
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. degree — from a university
  24. hand — part of the body

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