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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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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: stand · file · wax · season · lash · pass · degree · cold

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. degree — an amount
  3. degree — from a university
  4. file — a document
  5. wax — to grow
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. season — of the year
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. season — in sport
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. file — a tool
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. file — a line of people
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pass — a permit
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. stand — for spectators

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