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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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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: wax · drill · land · leaves · degree · perch · snap · firm

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. degree — temperature
  4. drill — a practice
  5. land — a country
  6. degree — from a university
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. land — to come down
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. firm — steady
  17. firm — decided
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. land — ground
  22. firm — a company
  23. snap — to click
  24. perch — the fish

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