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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wax — to grow
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. pop — music
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pop — soda
  10. pop — to visit
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. deal — to handle
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. degree — an amount
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rush — hurry
  20. date — the fruit
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cell — in biology
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. cell — in a prison

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