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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: cabinet · lean · wax · stick · race · staff · bat · degree

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. staff — a stick
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. staff — employees
  8. wax — to grow
  9. lean — to bend
  10. degree — an amount
  11. degree — temperature
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. staff — employees
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. race — a contest
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. degree — from a university
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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