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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 · wax · wake · face · dip · bay · chip · last

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. last — to go on
  5. wake — a trail
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. wax — to grow
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. face — part of the head
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. chip — for betting
  16. last — final
  17. degree — from a university
  18. last — finally
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. degree — temperature
  24. dip — to sink

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