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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. roll — a cake
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cell — in biology
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. deal — to handle
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cell — a phone
  20. roll — a list
  21. cold — an illness
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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