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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. pop — soda
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pop — music
  5. cell — in biology
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wound — an injury
  9. deal — to handle
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. content — the amount
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pop — to visit
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cell — a phone
  19. hand — in cards
  20. content — happy
  21. mine — for digging
  22. hand — help
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ruler — for measuring

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