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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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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: bear · chip · wax · pound · club · drill · degree · perch

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. perch — the fish
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. drill — army training
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. wax — to grow
  13. chip — for betting
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bear — the animal
  18. club — for golf
  19. bear — the animal
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. drill — the tool
  24. chip — to eat

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