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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.

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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: cabinet · bark · face · land · degree · wax · deal · current

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. land — a country
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. land — ground
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — to grow
  11. current — electric
  12. face — to confront
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. deal — to handle
  15. degree — an amount
  16. current — happening now
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. current — of water
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bark — to shout
  21. land — to come down
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. degree — from a university
  24. face — to point toward

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