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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wax — to grow
  5. plane — a tool
  6. face — to confront
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. pop — soda
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pop — music
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. face — part of the head
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. deal — to handle
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. prune — to trim

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