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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. shower — rain
  5. tear — from crying
  6. row — to paddle
  7. scale — in music
  8. can — a tin
  9. sharp — clever
  10. can — to be able to
  11. tear — to rip
  12. deal — to handle
  13. scale — size or range
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tear — from crying
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. row — a line
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. can — a tin
  23. shower — to wash
  24. row — a quarrel

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