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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. deal — to handle
  4. mate — a partner
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. spell — a short time
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bass — low music
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. court — of law
  18. rule — government
  19. court — for sport
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rule — a law
  22. degree — an amount
  23. court — of a king
  24. deal — a big deal

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