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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. last — final
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — a practice
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. last — finally
  11. drill — army training
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. mine — for digging
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. chest — of your body
  18. tear — from crying
  19. last — to go on
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. drill — the tool
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. tear — from crying
  24. chest — a box

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