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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. deal — to handle
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. capital — a city
  9. bear — the animal
  10. capital — money
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mate — a friend
  15. cold — an illness
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. bear — the animal
  24. calf — of the leg

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