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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: stick · wax · degree · race · rash · cell · march · mate

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. march — the month
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. race — humankind
  10. rash — a series
  11. cell — in biology
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. degree — from a university
  14. march — the month
  15. race — the arms race
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mate — a friend
  18. wax — to grow
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. race — a contest
  22. cell — a phone
  23. march — music
  24. rash — hasty

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