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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cell — in biology
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. deal — to handle
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to confront
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. race — a contest
  12. rash — a series
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. cell — a phone
  17. face — to point toward
  18. game — a match
  19. chip — for betting
  20. game — wild animals
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. chip — to eat

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