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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: land · rock · arm · march · scale · last · wax · degree

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wax — to grow
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. degree — temperature
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. degree — an amount
  10. march — the month
  11. last — final
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. last — finally
  14. rock — music
  15. degree — from a university
  16. scale — size or range
  17. march — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. rock — a stone
  22. last — to go on
  23. scale — in music
  24. land — a country

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