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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: wax · degree · bat · lean · face · season · charge · snap

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. face — part of the head
  3. charge — a price
  4. snap — to click
  5. season — in sport
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. charge — electricity
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. degree — an amount
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bat — the animal
  22. charge — in control
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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