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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. last — to go on
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. tear — from crying
  7. degree — an amount
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. mate — to breed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. last — final
  19. stand — to bear
  20. mate — a friend
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. deal — to handle
  23. last — finally
  24. mate — a partner

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