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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 120 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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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 · deal · season · degree · rule · kid · leaves · wax

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. club — a group
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. rule — government
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rule — a law
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. club — for golf
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. degree — an amount
  19. kid — child
  20. degree — temperature
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. degree — from a university
  23. wax — to grow
  24. club — for dancing

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