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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: toast · wax · degree · bark · cold · rule · pit · ruler

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. degree — an amount
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. bark — to shout
  10. degree — temperature
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. cold — not warm
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rule — government
  21. wax — to grow
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bark — of a tree

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