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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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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. shower — to wash
  5. face — part of the head
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — the earth
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. squash — to crush
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. face — to confront
  12. date — the fruit
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. last — to go on
  16. ground — crushed
  17. last — final
  18. face — to point toward
  19. wax — to grow
  20. last — finally
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. shower — rain
  23. squash — the sport
  24. date — on the calendar

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