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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: season · net · degree · hide · board · wax · cell · last

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — to grow
  3. degree — temperature
  4. net — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. degree — from a university
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. board — a committee
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. board — to get on
  14. net — for catching
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. degree — an amount
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. last — finally
  21. season — in sport
  22. cell — in biology
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. net — after costs

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