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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. club — for golf
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stock — shares
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. date — the fruit
  11. deal — to handle
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stock — goods
  14. clip — a video
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — a group
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. bat — the animal
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. clip — to cut
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stock — a soup base

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