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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. craft — boats
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. degree — an amount
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — steady
  9. content — happy
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. craft — a skill
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. deal — to handle
  14. firm — decided
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. content — the amount
  18. chair — a leader

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