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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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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: sharp · wind · degree · lie · hide · date · deal · lean

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. degree — from a university
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. degree — an amount
  6. lean — thin
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. degree — temperature
  10. date — the fruit
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. sharp — clever
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. sharp — with an edge

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