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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 120 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: drill · prune · degree · wave · staff · rush · deal · fine

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. degree — an amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. degree — temperature
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. degree — from a university
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. staff — employees
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. fine — high quality
  19. staff — employees
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. drill — army training
  22. deal — to handle
  23. fine — all right
  24. wave — with your hand

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