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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. content — the amount
  3. deal — to handle
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rash — hasty
  7. can — a tin
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. content — happy
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. kid — child
  14. rash — a series
  15. kid — to tease
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest

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