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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: wound · bear · plane · fork · degree · saw · stick · wax

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. bear — to put up with
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. bear — the animal
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. fork — in a road
  8. degree — temperature
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wound — an injury
  16. plane — a tool
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wax — to grow
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fork — to eat with
  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