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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. last — final
  3. bark — to shout
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. last — to go on
  7. bound — tied together
  8. last — finally
  9. hand — help
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bound — obliged
  13. deal — to handle
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. current — of water
  17. bound — certain
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — electric
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. pitcher — in 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