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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: hand · mine · face · cue · wax · object · rule · degree

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. object — to protest
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. face — to confront
  5. degree — an amount
  6. rule — government
  7. cue — for pool
  8. face — to point toward
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. degree — temperature
  14. cue — a hint
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cue — a signal
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. hand — help
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — a law
  21. hand — in cards
  22. degree — from a university
  23. object — a thing
  24. object — an aim

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