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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. mate — a partner
  3. ground — a position
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. ground — the earth
  8. hand — help
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. wake — a trail
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. mate — to breed
  17. hand — in cards
  18. ground — crushed
  19. club — for golf
  20. mate — a friend
  21. club — for dancing
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. club — a group

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