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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 124 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: last · wax · stand · court · land · branch · jam · degree

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. land — a country
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. court — of law
  5. land — to come down
  6. branch — a division
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wax — to grow
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. court — for sport
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. degree — from a university
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. degree — temperature
  22. court — of a king
  23. land — ground
  24. stand — to bear

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