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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 120 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: saw · scale · wax · chair · degree · pit · stand · cell

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stand — to bear
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pit — in a race
  6. degree — temperature
  7. scale — in music
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. saw — the tool
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wax — to grow
  20. pit — a hole
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cell — a phone

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