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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wax — to grow
  5. deal — to handle
  6. land — a country
  7. mark — a trace
  8. land — ground
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. last — final
  11. season — of the year
  12. last — to go on
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. degree — an amount
  15. season — in sport
  16. last — finally
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. degree — from a university
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. land — to come down
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. degree — temperature
  24. season — to add flavour

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