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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. rest — a break
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. present — there
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. last — to go on
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. last — final
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. rest — what's left
  11. last — finally
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. deal — to handle
  15. present — the time now
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rest — what's left
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. present — a gift
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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