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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.

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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: spring · temple · wax · racket · club · degree · season · coach

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. spring — of water
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. degree — from a university
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. spring — the season
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wax — to grow
  16. spring — a coil
  17. club — a group
  18. season — in sport
  19. club — for dancing
  20. season — of the year
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. club — for golf
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. degree — temperature

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