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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bore · saw · season · degree · wax · kid · march · trunk

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — to grow
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. kid — child
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. degree — from a university
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bore — to drill
  9. march — the month
  10. season — in sport
  11. kid — to tease
  12. saw — the tool
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. march — the month
  15. degree — temperature
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. season — of the year
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bore — to tire
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. march — music
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. saw — the tool

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