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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cold — an illness
  7. deal — to handle
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. kick — in football
  16. capital — a city
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bass — low music
  19. mate — a friend
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mate — a partner
  23. bass — the fish
  24. lash — an eyelash

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