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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.

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: bay · lean · drill · degree · rock · wax · land · stem

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. degree — from a university
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. stem — to come from
  5. rock — music
  6. drill — a practice
  7. land — a country
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wax — to grow
  10. land — ground
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. lean — thin
  14. land — to come down
  15. degree — temperature
  16. rock — a stone
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. drill — army training
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. lean — to bend
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. stem — of a plant

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