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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 do anything ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. pop — soda
  5. bound — tied together
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. bound — obliged
  8. mark — a grade
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rash — a series
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. pop — to visit
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bound — certain
  17. mark — a trace
  18. pop — music
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. prune — to trim
  21. deal — to handle
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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