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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: lash · club · wax · patient · content · press · plane · degree

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. press — to push
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — a group
  5. press — a publisher
  6. plane — a tool
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. content — happy
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wax — to grow
  11. content — the amount
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. degree — an amount
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. degree — temperature
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. club — for dancing
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. press — newspapers
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. degree — from a university

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