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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. mate — a partner
  3. last — to go on
  4. key — for a lock
  5. bear — the animal
  6. last — final
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bear — the animal
  10. key — in music
  11. mate — a friend
  12. last — finally
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. root — the cause
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. fine — high quality
  17. root — of a word
  18. deal — to handle
  19. mine — for digging
  20. root — of a plant
  21. fine — all right
  22. mate — to breed
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. deal — an agreement

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