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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. cell — a phone
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bound — obliged
  9. craft — boats
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. cell — in biology
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. deal — to handle
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. prune — to trim
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bound — tied together
  20. craft — a skill
  21. sharp — clever
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bound — certain
  24. race — the arms race

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