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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 116 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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. wind — moving air
  5. land — ground
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. land — a country
  11. deal — to handle
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. season — in sport
  16. land — to come down
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. cap — of ice
  21. hand — in cards
  22. race — humankind
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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