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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. drill — the tool
  6. staff — employees
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. land — to come down
  10. staff — employees
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. drill — a practice
  16. prune — to trim
  17. drill — army training
  18. cold — an illness
  19. prune — to trim
  20. sharp — clever
  21. staff — a stick
  22. land — ground
  23. land — a country
  24. deal — to handle

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