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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 120 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. net — in sport
  3. ball — a dance
  4. land — a country
  5. hand — help
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. land — ground
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. ball — a great time
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. land — to come down
  16. net — after costs
  17. tear — from crying
  18. net — for catching
  19. tear — to rip
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. hand — in cards
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. ball — a round shape

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