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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. hand — in cards
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. roll — a list
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. hand — help
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. date — the fruit
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. can — a tin
  12. saw — the tool
  13. can — a tin
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. saw — the tool
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. pound — a weight
  22. deal — to handle
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. roll — a cake

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