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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: plane · degree · season · wax · foot · shower · straw · stock

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wax — to grow
  6. foot — a measure
  7. shower — rain
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. shower — to wash
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stock — shares
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. season — of the year
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. season — in sport
  24. degree — an amount

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