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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. deal — to handle
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chair — a leader
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. march — music
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. march — the month
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. march — the month
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. shower — rain
  24. calf — a young animal

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