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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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. key — the most important part
  4. deal — to handle
  5. march — the month
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cell — a phone
  10. key — for a lock
  11. rash — hasty
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rash — a series
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bat — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. bore — to drill
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. key — in music
  21. march — music
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bore — gave birth

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