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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: degree · deal · wax · tear · mouse · lean · sharp · arm

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. lean — to bend
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. deal — to handle
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lean — thin
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wax — to grow
  24. arm — part of the body

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