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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. march — music
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. roll — a cake
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wound — an injury
  7. kid — to tease
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. kid — child
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. march — the month
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. roll — a list
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — an injury
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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