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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: root · wax · clip · suit · degree · face · wave · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. face — part of the head
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wax — to grow
  7. face — to confront
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. clip — a video
  11. root — the cause
  12. clip — for paper
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. suit — clothes
  15. degree — an amount
  16. suit — in cards
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — of a word
  21. degree — temperature
  22. face — to point toward
  23. suit — to fit
  24. degree — from a university

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