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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: wave · deal · hand · pitcher · bore · lean · row · degree

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. hand — in cards
  8. lean — to bend
  9. row — a line
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. bore — to tire
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hand — help
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. row — to paddle
  21. deal — to handle
  22. degree — temperature
  23. bore — to drill
  24. pitcher — a jug

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