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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: season · patient · degree · band · present · pit · mark · wax

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. degree — from a university
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. present — a gift
  5. season — in sport
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. degree — temperature
  8. present — the time now
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mark — a grade
  11. season — of the year
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wax — to grow
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mark — a trace
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pit — a hole
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. present — there
  24. degree — an amount

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