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

Word bank: deal · wound · stand · degree · hide · club · content · wave

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. club — for dancing
  3. stand — to bear
  4. content — happy
  5. deal — to handle
  6. content — the amount
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. club — for golf
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. club — a group
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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