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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: wax · degree · stem · club · plane · calf · chest · content

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. plane — a tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. club — for golf
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wax — to grow
  12. degree — from a university
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. content — the amount
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. content — happy
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. degree — temperature

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