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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. court — of law
  3. season — of the year
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. season — in sport
  7. deal — to handle
  8. court — for sport
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. chest — of your body
  11. sharp — clever
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. scale — in music
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. chest — a box
  24. court — of a king

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