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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. 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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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. key — the most important part
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. land — ground
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. key — for a lock
  9. file — a tool
  10. vault — a safe
  11. cell — a phone
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. ball — a great time
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. deal — to handle
  19. key — in music
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. land — to come down
  22. ball — a dance
  23. land — a country
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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