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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wax — to grow
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. cold — an illness
  10. deal — to handle
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cold — not warm
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. press — a publisher
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. march — the month
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. sharp — clever
  20. march — the month
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. march — music
  24. lash — to lash out

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