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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bass · staff · press · tear · rest · mate · wax · degree

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. rest — what's left
  4. degree — an amount
  5. staff — employees
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rest — a break
  8. staff — a stick
  9. bass — low music
  10. press — a publisher
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mate — a partner
  13. rest — what's left
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bass — the fish
  18. mate — a friend
  19. degree — from a university
  20. press — newspapers
  21. degree — temperature
  22. press — to push
  23. tear — to rip
  24. staff — employees

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