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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. root — the cause
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. swing — music
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. race — a contest
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. swing — to play on
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. root — of a word
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. race — the arms race
  21. root — of a plant
  22. deal — to handle
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. race — humankind

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