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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 120 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. staff — a stick
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. ground — crushed
  7. wound — an injury
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. wound — an injury
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. staff — employees
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. band — a music group
  17. staff — employees
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bat — the animal
  20. rash — hasty
  21. prune — to trim
  22. band — a ring
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rash — a series

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