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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. hand — help
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cap — a lid
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. deal — to handle
  15. hand — in cards
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. cap — of ice
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cap — a hat
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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