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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
468
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: degree · file · wax · chest · bark · pop · race · mug

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. pop — music
  3. race — a contest
  4. degree — temperature
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. mug — a cup
  8. file — a tool
  9. pop — soda
  10. degree — from a university
  11. pop — to visit
  12. chest — of your body
  13. file — a document
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mug — a face
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wax — to grow

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