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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: present · degree · rash · wax · rule · cell · race · ball

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rule — a law
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a great time
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. present — there
  9. cell — in biology
  10. present — the time now
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. rash — hasty
  14. race — humankind
  15. rule — government
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. present — a gift
  21. rash — a series
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. degree — from a university

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