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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.

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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: chest · branch · stick · cold · staff · board · wax · degree

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. chest — a box
  3. cold — an illness
  4. wax — to grow
  5. chest — of your body
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. staff — a stick
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a committee
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. staff — employees
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. degree — temperature
  22. staff — employees
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. chest — of your body

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