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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: staff · foot · pop · wax · leaves · degree · land · straw

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pop — music
  5. land — ground
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. land — a country
  10. degree — an amount
  11. land — to come down
  12. staff — employees
  13. foot — a measure
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pop — soda
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pop — to visit
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — lets stay

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