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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. mark — a trace
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rest — what's left
  5. march — the month
  6. rest — a break
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. march — the month
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. deal — to handle
  12. march — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bat — the animal
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. hand — help
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mark — a grade
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wind — to turn a key

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