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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: season · clip · jam · wax · degree · snap · key · mark

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. clip — a video
  4. wax — to grow
  5. key — in music
  6. degree — an amount
  7. mark — a trace
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mark — a grade
  13. degree — from a university
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. season — of the year
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. season — in sport
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — for a lock
  24. snap — to click

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