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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: race · land · wound · wax · firm · dip · degree · fall

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — decided
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wound — an injury
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. wound — an injury
  8. dip — to sink
  9. degree — from a university
  10. land — ground
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fall — the season
  14. degree — an amount
  15. land — to come down
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. land — a country
  24. firm — a company

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