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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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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: chest · wax · prune · key · patient · bay · degree · march

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. march — the month
  6. key — in music
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. key — the most important part
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chest — of your body
  12. degree — from a university
  13. key — for a lock
  14. chest — of your body
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chest — a box
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. wax — to grow
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. prune — to trim
  23. degree — an amount
  24. patient — a sick person

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