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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. scale — in music
  5. drill — a practice
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. drill — army training
  11. saw — the tool
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. rock — a stone
  14. deal — to handle
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. mine — for digging
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. fork — in a road
  21. scale — size or range
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. rock — music

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