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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: pop · degree · object · cabinet · straw · row · capital · wax

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pop — to visit
  5. object — a thing
  6. capital — a city
  7. object — to protest
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wax — to grow
  11. object — an aim
  12. row — a line
  13. capital — money
  14. pop — soda
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pop — music
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. degree — from a university
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. degree — temperature
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wax — for sculpting

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