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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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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. staff — employees
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — an illness
  16. deal — to handle
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. staff — a stick

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