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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. land — a country
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bore — to drill
  5. land — to come down
  6. rule — a law
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. land — ground
  9. deal — to handle
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. rock — music
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. rock — a stone
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bark — to shout
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. kick — in football
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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