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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. object — an aim
  5. spring — the season
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. object — to protest
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. file — a tool
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. spring — of water
  12. object — a thing
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a line of people
  18. deal — to handle
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. file — a document
  22. cap — of ice
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. spring — a coil

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