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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 · mug · band · kid · degree · stand · row · dip

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. degree — from a university
  4. mug — to rob
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. mug — a cup
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stand — to bear
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. row — a line
  12. mug — a face
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. row — to paddle
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. degree — an amount
  18. kid — child
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. dip — to sink
  24. wax — to grow

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