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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.

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: wax · game · degree · shower · scale · chip · bear · rest

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — temperature
  4. wax — to grow
  5. game — wild animals
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. rest — what's left
  8. scale — in music
  9. chip — to eat
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. rest — a break
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. degree — from a university
  20. shower — rain
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — a match
  24. chip — for betting

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