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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. content — happy
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a document
  5. craft — boats
  6. row — a line
  7. firm — steady
  8. file — a line of people
  9. deal — to handle
  10. firm — decided
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. march — music
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. march — the month
  15. craft — a skill
  16. ball — a dance
  17. row — to paddle
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. file — a tool
  20. content — the amount
  21. ball — a great time
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. firm — a company
  24. ball — a round shape

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