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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: pit · cold · wax · degree · saw · craft · band · chip

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. band — a music group
  3. chip — to eat
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. degree — temperature
  6. craft — boats
  7. pit — a hole
  8. band — a ring
  9. degree — an amount
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. wax — to grow
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. degree — from a university
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. saw — the tool
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. cold — not warm
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. craft — a skill

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