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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. chest — a box
  4. net — in sport
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. perch — the fish
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fork — in a road
  14. net — for catching
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. deal — to handle
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. net — after costs

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