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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. staff — employees
  3. deal — to handle
  4. march — the month
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bank — for money
  7. drill — army training
  8. kid — child
  9. shower — to wash
  10. band — a ring
  11. drill — the tool
  12. staff — employees
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. march — the month
  15. march — music
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bank — of a river
  18. drill — a practice
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. shower — rain
  22. band — a music group
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bank — for money

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