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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. prune — to trim
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. court — for sport
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. court — of law
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. prune — to trim
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. kid — child
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. court — of a king
  20. bark — to shout
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. game — a match
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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