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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. club — a group
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. drill — the tool
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bass — low music
  9. club — for golf
  10. drill — army training
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bass — the fish
  13. drill — a practice
  14. tear — from crying
  15. board — a committee
  16. cell — in biology
  17. deal — to handle
  18. tear — to rip
  19. club — for dancing
  20. board — to get on
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cell — a phone
  24. straw — a straw man

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