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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. face — to point toward
  4. chest — of your body
  5. snap — to click
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. mark — a trace
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mark — a grade
  10. swing — music
  11. bass — low music
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. deal — to handle
  14. face — to confront
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. face — part of the head
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bass — the fish
  21. swing — in golf
  22. chest — a box
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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