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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: wax · face · saw · lean · degree · capital · club · chair

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. degree — temperature
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wax — to grow
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. lean — to bend
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. degree — from a university
  12. lean — thin
  13. capital — a city
  14. club — for golf
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — a group
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. degree — an amount
  22. face — part of the head
  23. capital — money
  24. face — to confront

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