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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bound — tied together
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. mate — a partner
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. deal — to handle
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. date — the fruit
  11. mate — to breed
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. chest — a box
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bat — the animal
  19. chest — of your body
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bound — obliged
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bound — certain
  24. bat — for baseball

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