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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 116 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. mate — to breed
  3. deal — to handle
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. track — a song
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. track — to keep track
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bark — to shout
  13. mate — a friend
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bore — to tire
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wax — to grow
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. track — a path
  24. bore — to drill

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