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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 · court · degree · safe · bass · patient · season · game

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. game — wild animals
  3. degree — an amount
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. wax — to grow
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. degree — from a university
  8. game — a match
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. court — of a king
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bass — low music
  21. season — of the year
  22. bass — the fish
  23. season — in sport
  24. bass — the instrument

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