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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rush — hurry
  4. field — farmland
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wax — to grow
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. degree — an amount
  13. chip — to eat
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. mark — a trace
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. deal — to handle
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a grade
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. chip — for betting

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