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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: snap · face · rule · row · fork · wax · degree · trunk

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rule — a law
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wax — to grow
  7. degree — an amount
  8. face — part of the head
  9. row — to paddle
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rule — government
  12. face — to confront
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. degree — temperature
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fork — in a road
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. snap — to click
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. face — to point toward
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. row — a line

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