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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. staff — employees
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. land — ground
  6. rash — hasty
  7. land — a country
  8. bank — for money
  9. staff — employees
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bank — for money
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. row — to paddle
  17. row — a line
  18. staff — a stick
  19. shower — rain
  20. bank — of a river
  21. land — to come down
  22. rash — a series
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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