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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
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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: chest · bowl · trunk · present · board · pop · degree · wax

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chest — of your body
  3. board — a committee
  4. chest — of your body
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pop — soda
  8. chest — a box
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. present — the time now
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. present — there
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. pop — music
  18. degree — from a university
  19. board — to get on
  20. present — a gift
  21. degree — temperature
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. pop — to visit

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