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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. spell — a short time
  3. march — the month
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. march — music
  10. spell — magic
  11. fine — high quality
  12. press — to push
  13. hand — help
  14. press — a publisher
  15. degree — an amount
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. degree — temperature
  18. spell — letters
  19. march — the month
  20. ball — a dance
  21. press — newspapers
  22. ball — a great time
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. deal — to handle

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