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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. hand — in cards
  5. shower — rain
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. capital — money
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. hand — help
  10. club — for dancing
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. scale — in music
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. deal — to handle
  19. club — a group
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. club — for golf
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. hand — part of the body

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