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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: wax · dip · wound · degree · nail · firm · spring · chest

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. dip — to dunk
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. spring — a coil
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. firm — steady
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. chest — of your body
  13. spring — the season
  14. wax — to grow
  15. degree — temperature
  16. dip — to sink
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — an amount
  19. chest — a box
  20. wound — an injury
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — a company
  23. spring — of water
  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