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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. last — final
  4. last — to go on
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. hand — help
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. last — finally
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. rule — government
  15. file — a line of people
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. date — the fruit
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. file — a tool
  20. pitch — completely
  21. deal — to handle
  22. rule — a law
  23. file — a document
  24. deal — an agreement

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