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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. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. deal — to handle
  4. last — to go on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tube — a container
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mate — to breed
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pit — a hole
  13. mate — a partner
  14. pit — in a race
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mate — a friend
  17. last — finally
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. tube — the underground
  20. wind — moving air
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. last — final
  24. hand — help

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