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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. court — for sport
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. hand — in cards
  5. court — of a king
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. court — of law
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. hand — help
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cell — in biology
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bark — of a tree

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