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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: lean · pitcher · deal · face · wax · degree · stock · bass

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. face — to confront
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. lean — thin
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stock — goods
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. degree — from a university
  12. face — to point toward
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bass — low music
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bass — the fish
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. lean — to bend
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — shares
  24. degree — temperature

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