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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. last — finally
  4. court — of a king
  5. staff — employees
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. staff — a stick
  8. court — of law
  9. kid — to tease
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. file — a document
  14. staff — employees
  15. last — final
  16. rush — hurry
  17. deal — to handle
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. kid — child
  21. last — to go on
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. court — for sport

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