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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wound · degree · fine · face · mate · row · roll · wax

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. fine — all right
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wound — an injury
  5. face — part of the head
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. degree — temperature
  11. mate — a partner
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. face — to confront
  14. roll — a cake
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. degree — an amount
  17. row — a line
  18. roll — a list
  19. wax — to grow
  20. fine — high quality
  21. degree — from a university
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. row — to paddle
  24. face — to point toward

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