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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. degree — temperature
  3. face — to point toward
  4. squash — to crush
  5. ground — the earth
  6. scale — in music
  7. last — finally
  8. row — a line
  9. degree — an amount
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. scale — size or range
  12. row — to paddle
  13. ground — a position
  14. last — final
  15. degree — from a university
  16. face — part of the head
  17. last — to go on
  18. squash — the sport
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. ground — crushed
  22. face — to confront
  23. deal — to handle
  24. row — a quarrel

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