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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. club — for dancing
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. kid — to tease
  7. track — a song
  8. rash — a series
  9. club — a group
  10. track — a path
  11. deal — to handle
  12. track — to keep track
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. ground — a position
  15. mark — a trace
  16. kid — child
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. fork — in a road
  21. club — for golf
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rash — hasty
  24. mark — a grade

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