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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. spell — magic
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. swing — to play on
  6. game — wild animals
  7. club — for golf
  8. tube — a container
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. swing — music
  14. game — a match
  15. club — a group
  16. tube — the underground
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. swing — in golf
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. deal — to handle
  21. club — for dancing
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. object — an aim
  24. tube — in a tire

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