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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. current — electric
  5. face — to point toward
  6. current — happening now
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. drill — a practice
  9. current — of water
  10. face — to confront
  11. cell — in biology
  12. mine — for digging
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. pit — in a race
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. deal — to handle
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. drill — army training
  21. face — part of the head
  22. last — final
  23. drill — the tool
  24. pit — a hole

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