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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bat — the animal
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. press — a publisher
  7. spell — letters
  8. hand — help
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. deal — to handle
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. press — newspapers
  13. spell — magic
  14. press — to push
  15. spell — a short time
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. hand — 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