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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. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. rash — a series
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. rash — hasty
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. track — a path
  9. capital — money
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a music group
  12. bass — the fish
  13. court — for sport
  14. hand — help
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bass — low music
  17. deal — to handle
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. track — to keep track
  20. hand — in cards
  21. capital — a city
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — of law
  24. track — a song

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