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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cue — for pool
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. scale — size or range
  10. spring — of water
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — in music
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. suit — to fit
  17. deal — to handle
  18. suit — in cards
  19. cue — a signal
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. suit — clothes
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — to eat with

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