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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.

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: season · degree · chair · wax · file · key · stock · racket

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. key — for a lock
  3. degree — temperature
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stock — goods
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. key — in music
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. season — of the year
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. chair — a leader
  13. file — a document
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. degree — an amount
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. degree — from a university
  19. key — the most important part
  20. season — in sport
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. stock — shares
  24. wax — for sculpting

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