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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. chair — a leader
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. content — the amount
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. pop — to visit
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. deal — to handle
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. content — happy
  12. spell — magic
  13. game — a match
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. roll — a cake
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — a short time
  18. lie — to recline
  19. pop — music
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. roll — a list
  22. pop — soda
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. game — wild animals

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