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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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mug — a face
  4. fine — all right
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pass — a permit
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. mug — a cup
  12. fine — high quality
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — to grow
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — not warm
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. deal — to handle
  22. degree — from a university
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. mug — to rob

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