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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: mouse · branch · degree · wax · bark · kid · scale · chair

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. branch — a division
  3. kid — to tease
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. chair — a leader
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. wax — to grow
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bark — to shout
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. degree — temperature
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. scale — in music
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. degree — an amount

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