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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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. ground — crushed
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. march — music
  8. ground — a position
  9. march — the month
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. root — the cause
  12. game — a match
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. deal — to handle
  15. root — of a word
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. rush — hurry
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. game — wild animals
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ground — the earth
  23. march — the month
  24. root — of a plant

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