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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
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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: lie · key · last · season · degree · wax · spell · row

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. row — a line
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. spell — a short time
  5. spell — magic
  6. last — final
  7. key — for a lock
  8. degree — from a university
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. season — of the year
  12. degree — temperature
  13. row — to paddle
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — in music
  16. last — to go on
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. season — in sport
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. last — finally
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. degree — an amount
  24. wax — to grow

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