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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. face — part of the head
  3. file — a tool
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. drill — army training
  10. file — a line of people
  11. deal — to handle
  12. face — to confront
  13. file — a document
  14. drill — the tool
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. row — to paddle
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wake — a trail
  20. drill — a practice
  21. can — a tin
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. wax — to grow
  24. can — a tin

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