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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rash — a series
  7. rest — a break
  8. date — the fruit
  9. rest — what's left
  10. perch — the fish
  11. spring — the season
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. spring — of water
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pound — a weight
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. band — a ring
  19. deal — to handle
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rash — hasty
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. perch — for a bird

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