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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: spell · wound · wax · season · nail · hand · rule · degree

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. spell — a short time
  5. season — in sport
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. degree — temperature
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rule — government
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. rule — a law
  12. spell — letters
  13. season — of the year
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wound — an injury
  17. hand — help
  18. wound — an injury
  19. spell — magic
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. hand — in cards

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