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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. swing — to play on
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bound — tied together
  8. firm — steady
  9. file — a tool
  10. shower — to wash
  11. swing — in golf
  12. shower — rain
  13. firm — decided
  14. file — a document
  15. firm — a company
  16. swing — music
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — obliged
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bound — certain
  22. chip — for betting
  23. file — a line of people
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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