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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. cap — a lid
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. date — the fruit
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cap — of ice
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bank — for money
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to click
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bank — of a river
  20. deal — to handle
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cold — not warm
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cap — a hat

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