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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 116 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: club · season · hand · wax · lie · fan · degree · net

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  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. lie — an untruth
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. club — a group
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — in cards
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. hand — help
  13. wax — to grow
  14. club — for golf
  15. degree — an amount
  16. net — in sport
  17. club — for dancing
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lie — to recline
  23. degree — temperature
  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