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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 120 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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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 · swing · wake · track · lie · nail · degree · tear

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wax — to grow
  4. degree — from a university
  5. track — a path
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. track — a song
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. swing — music
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wake — a trail
  16. tear — to rip
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — temperature
  19. swing — in golf
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lie — to recline

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