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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 120 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: ruler · nail · shower · chair · deal · degree · wax · pop

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. chair — a leader
  3. degree — an amount
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pop — soda
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. degree — from a university
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wax — to grow
  15. deal — to handle
  16. shower — rain
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. ruler — for measuring

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