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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: degree · wound · fall · bound · wax · fine · bat · face

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bound — certain
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. fine — high quality
  7. wound — an injury
  8. degree — temperature
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bat — the animal
  11. face — part of the head
  12. bound — tied together
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fine — all right
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fall — to drop
  21. face — to point toward
  22. fall — the season
  23. bound — obliged
  24. face — to confront

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