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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: wax · chair · degree · wound · bat · pass · lash · season

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pass — a permit
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wax — to grow
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. season — in sport
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bat — the animal
  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