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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · degree · saw · wax · rule · branch · plane · drill

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. saw — the tool
  4. plane — a tool
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. drill — the tool
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. drill — a practice
  9. saw — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. rule — government
  12. degree — temperature
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wax — to grow
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. degree — from a university
  20. rule — a law
  21. branch — a division
  22. cold — an illness
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wax — in the ear

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