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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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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: degree · wind · dip · tear · branch · wax · key · pit

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. tear — from crying
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. degree — temperature
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. wax — to grow
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. degree — from a university
  9. dip — to sink
  10. pit — a hole
  11. tear — to rip
  12. key — the most important part
  13. tear — from crying
  14. key — in music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. wind — moving air
  21. branch — a division
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pit — in a race

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