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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.

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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: patient · tear · degree · straw · chair · wax · present · rule

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chair — a leader
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. degree — temperature
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. present — the time now
  10. degree — an amount
  11. present — a gift
  12. degree — from a university
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. present — there
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rule — government
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. rule — a law

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