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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: nail · degree · kid · wax · wake · press · tube · bay

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. press — a publisher
  4. tube — the underground
  5. degree — from a university
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. press — newspapers
  16. degree — temperature
  17. kid — child
  18. press — to push
  19. wax — to grow
  20. kid — to tease
  21. tube — a container
  22. degree — an amount
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. nail — for a hammer

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