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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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — to crush
  5. swing — music
  6. land — ground
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. spring — the season
  11. march — music
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bound — obliged
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. land — to come down
  18. swing — in golf
  19. spring — of water
  20. swing — to play on
  21. bound — certain
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bound — tied together
  24. land — a country

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