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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: degree · bark · rock · chair · wax · game · season · lean

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. game — wild animals
  5. chair — a leader
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. lean — thin
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. degree — an amount
  13. game — a match
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. rock — a stone
  17. wax — to grow
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. season — in sport
  20. lean — to bend
  21. rock — music
  22. bark — to shout
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. wax — in the ear

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