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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
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: prune · mug · kid · content · degree · march · wax · season

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mug — to rob
  3. march — the month
  4. wax — to grow
  5. season — in sport
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. degree — an amount
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mug — a cup
  10. march — music
  11. content — the amount
  12. prune — to trim
  13. kid — to tease
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. mug — a face
  16. content — happy
  17. march — the month
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. degree — from a university
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. season — of the year

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