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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. last — to go on
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. tube — a container
  5. season — in sport
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. mug — to rob
  8. last — finally
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mug — a face
  12. tube — the underground
  13. season — of the year
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mug — a cup
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. tear — to rip
  22. deal — to handle
  23. last — final
  24. roll — a cake

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