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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. fine — high quality
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. land — ground
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. roll — a list
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fine — all right
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. file — a document
  12. rush — hurry
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. roll — a cake
  16. land — a country
  17. land — to come down
  18. court — of a king
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. file — a tool
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. prune — to trim
  23. file — a line of people
  24. prune — the fruit

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