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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stock — shares
  4. deal — to handle
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stock — goods
  9. kid — child
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fork — in a road

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