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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. land — to come down
  3. root — of a plant
  4. ground — a position
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. band — a ring
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. drill — army training
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. land — a country
  14. root — the cause
  15. deal — to handle
  16. ground — the earth
  17. land — ground
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. drill — a practice
  20. band — a music group
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. mine — for digging
  23. root — of a word
  24. band — a rubber band

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